Of Ymbrynes and Traitors
by Ember Belli
Summary: Minnette Stonington has finally completed her education amongst the Normals, and is ecstatic about returning to the world of Peculiars. Shortly after returning, she is sent off to Miss Avocet's Academy for Ymbryne Fledglings. It is there that Minnette truly learns to understand the on-goings between the Wights and the Ymbrynes.
1. The End of Education

It was half-past two in the afternoon. I sat stiffly at my desk in my last period calculous class. Every other student in the classroom were all trembling with excitement, some quivering their legs, some grinning hugely, some biting their lips and staring at the clock. Yes, you could indeed say that I was stuck in a room with a bunch of unruly Seniors.

It just so happened that it was June 12th, the last official day of our high school life, and it happened to be the last period of the day. Although the last day had consisted of handing in text books, the cleaning out of lockers, the turning in of graduation gown order forms, and shuffling about trying to receive the signature of anyone-who-was-anyone in the yearbook, all of the people in the Senior student body were acting like complete and utter scallywags.

That is, of course, except me.

Of course I was rather in-a-tizzy on the inside about the completion of high school, but I had enough self control to not act like I was about to explode and send glitter and fairy dust flying everywhere when the bell rang. I sat coolly in my seat, holding tight to the beautiful leather-bound book that I cherished as a personal journal. As the calculous teacher, Mr. Davis, presumed to blabber about the importance that high school education played in teens lives, I carefully opened my journal and began to admire the inside of it, as I often did when nothing in my general vicinity peaked my interest.

Within the front cover was a small jotting in elegant handwriting:

To my Favorite young Ymbryne

A.L. Peregrine

I studied the style of the writing and traced the words with my fingertip, as I found myself doing many many times a day.

It had been nearly a year since I had chosen to leave Miss Peregrine's loop. It was a choice that resulted in many hardships. There had been days where I had been drowning in school work, most of which I found pointless (really, whose going to use calculous in the world?) where countless hours during the evening were spent cursing horrendously and going off into many tangents. Bunches and bunches of weekends were occupied with extra-circicular activities such as studying in the library on Saturday afternoons or burying my nose in a textbook for hours at a time. It would be horrifyingly wrong if I were to say that Senior year was wonderful because it was most certainly not, it was hell, pure hell.

Other than school work, I had my family to deal with. After returning home from the loop last August, my parents expressed that they were glad that I was home safe and that I had enjoyed myself in "England." Little did they know that I actually was spending my days in the 1940's via Miss Peregrine's temporal loop on Cairnholm Island in Wales. But fabricating a vacation with my best friend, Helena, to England had turned out to be a wondrous cover-up. My parents and Claire attended a wild beach party the very evening I returned home. Helena was not aware of what I had told my parents, and they never bothered to ask her about our trip to England, either.

As the school year progressed, I tried my hardest to spend more time with my family. It was successful on certain levels. I was getting to a point where I actually enjoyed going to the mall with Claire; I could grocery shop with my mother and have it be a peaceful event. I often did things with my father such as dinning out at small diners, seeing horror movies in the theater and I even went fishing with him a handful of times.

The school year was heinously long, but it was well worth it.

So now, here I was, about to gain the very thing that I worked so pretentiously for: my freedom to escape this non-peculiar world.

I quietly began to flip through the journal pages. The entries were written with a fountain pen, that's the only way Id have it, and, many of the entries had photos to accompany them. The majority of the photographs I had shot myself, and each one had its own story to tell. Also tucked within the pages were some letters from Miss Peregrine. She had made it painstakingly clear when I left that her and I were to write to each other every week during my time back in New York. It was a promise that I would have never broken, even under the worst of circumstances. And we did, we wrote to each other every single week, and on occasion, twice a week. It really did amaze me how quickly letters could travel between my world and the loop.

I would be going back soon. There was no doubt about it.

When the bell finally sounded, the sound of chairs squealing across the floors surface were so strident that they drowned out my own thoughts. I waited till most of the other students had cleared out before moving from my seat and out into the hallway.

Students bustled up and down the halls. The energy of the school was exciting for once, and I was actually glad to be heading home.

On my way out the door, as I passed the menagerie of school buses and cars in the parking lot, a felt a hand grab my shoulder.

I turned to meet the face of my best friend, Helena.

"I can't belive that it's finally over, Minnette!" she exclaimed joyously.

I smiled. "It surely is a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" I asked her. "No more long days of sitting in rooms loosing our minds over useless textbooks."

Helena giggled.

The two of us strode past the clique of uptight females that often found it amusing to be brash toward the other students, myself and Helena included. They paid us no mind as we went right past them and began to walk down the street toward my house. They were as ecstatic as the rest of us to be finished with high school. I was sure that bullying other students would no longer be their source of entertainment.

We arrived at my house and went right in. My parents were off running errands and Claire had moved in with her fiance a few months back. We went to the kitchen where I prepared some finger sandwiches and some raspberry tea. Helena was accustomed to hanging out after school and doing homework together, so eating was a part of the routine.

Gathering the food, we went up to my bedroom.

Helena took the seat in my bay window that overlooked my street and I plopped down on my bed.

"So, have you picked out a college yet?" Helena asked, biting into a sandwich.

I nodded. "There's a small University in London that specializes in Ornithology," I explained.

"You're going all the way to London? Just to study birds?" she asked, oddly.

I was lying, of course. I did have an immense interest in studying birds- considering that I was half-bird- but I would be going to no university. No, in a couple weeks I'd be on a ferry across the ocean to Cairnholm to visit Miss Peregrine and the children before I would be moving to Blackpool to study under Miss Avocet at the Ymbryne Academy. Helena may have been my best friend, but there was absolutely no way that I would be telling her of peculiars, loops or ymbrynes. She would grow older thinking that her best friend was just an overly-crazed bird-lover. As much as I would have liked to share my world with her, it was impossible. I had to keep it secret; anyone in the world could be a wight in disguise.

"Absolutely," I replied. I reached for the plush raven that I kept at my bedside. Since returning home, I had been collecting lots of raven-themed items, posters, journals with ravens on them, jewelry of ravens and whatever else I managed to scoop up on my regular thrift shop trips. "There are so many species of birds around the world that are almost extinct. At University I will learn how to identify and care for injured and ill birds, and someday, I will own my own aviary, where I shall breed endangered birds and release them back into the wild."

Helena sipped her tea, then reached up, touching the dream catcher than hung above my bay window, which was made with black feathers. She twiddled a feather between her fingers. "Well, in that case, Ornithology sounds pretty interesting."

I squeezed my plush raven and cuddled it to me. It had been so long since I had taken a flight. Miss Peregrine had instructed me to put aside some time every week and seclude myself so I could practice assuming my alternate form. Such a time happened to be very late at night, long after I was sure my parents were asleep. I would sneak out my bay window and stand upon the roof. From there I would circle around to the backside of the roof that faced the woods. Flight would happen immediately at this point.

"What do your parents think of you moving to London?" she asked.

I sighed. "I'm not sure. I mean, they seem okay with it, but there's still that tiny bit of resistance that they don't want to let me go." Like I had said, my relationship with my parents had improved quite a bit since my return. It had taken some work, but we partially functioned like a normal family. I had discussed moving to London with them, and they seemed at peace with it, but my father had mentioned that he was unsure about how he felt about me crossing the ocean by myself. My mother has voiced that she was proud of me for keeping class in mind whilst choosing a school to attend.

"There's no way in hell my parents would let me leave the state to go to college, let alone the damn country," Helena said, laughing then sipping her tea.

"Yeah, I could see your parents having a fit over you leaving New York," I said.

We both giggled.

Helena sat up, reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone. She quickly answered a text message then looked at me. "Hey, it's only four o'clock. Considering that we're done with school, and technically adults now, we should celebrate."

I smiled. "Well, what do you have in mind?" I asked with a smile.

She sat forward, grinning hugely. "How about a mall trip?"

I leaped forward, off the bed. "Exquisite! Let's go!"

An hour from sitting in my room, discussing my move to "London," Helena and I found ourselves thrown into a menagerie of over-excited teenage goth girls in **_Gothic Goodies_** **,** a store in the mall just for goths. It was true that I still dressed in all-black and wore loads of dresses and skirt and blouse combinations, but I had fallen out of my darker stages. Helena wore a lot of black as well.

We were shopping for dresses to wear to graduation.

"Look at this one," she said, holding up a long black gown, with a high collar and long, lace sleeves that buttoned at the wrists. My stomach dropped when she held it up. "This would look perfect on you!"

It was rather an elegant dress, but too elegant for graduation. Still, I would be needing new things to wear for Ymbryne academy, so I decided to buy it. It was too beautiful a gown to leave on the rack; it would probably be bought by a young girl who wouldn't truly appreciate it. I draped it over my arm carefully while we looked around some more.

I decided on a ruffled, short sleeved black blouse with a plain black maxi skirt, and Helena chose a strapless black dress that ended just below her knees.

We then made our way to a store that specialized in all-natural homemade tea mixtures, essential oils and products for you skin and such. Next was the bookstore, and after that, the shoe store.

When the shopping part was complete, we made our way to the food court for hot dogs and a soda. After a few hours, Helena decided she was tired and we left after eating.

I dropped her off at her house on the way home. I pulled up to the curb and she sighed.

"You know, you really are my best friend, and I'm going to miss you when you move away," she said, lowly.

"I shall miss you, as well," I replied. "But I promise I'll visit."

She got out of the car and collected her shopping bags. "See you at graduation?" she asked.

I nodded. "You bet."

And with that, she went into her house, leaving me with a smile on my face. Yes, Helena was indeed my best friend on the entire planet. And I would miss her dearly while I was away, frolicking about September 3rd, 1940.


	2. Seeing Birds

My graduation ceremony was quite the grand event. As glad as I was to be finished with school, I honestly couldn't wait to get the ceremony over with. All I could do was focus on the day that I would be leaving for Cairnholm, which was exactly one week from the ceremony. Throughout the entire ceremony, as I sat amongst my fellow graduates, I was completely zoned out. My mind was happily soaring through the clouds, on a pair of smooth, black wings. I heard absolutely nothing either our principal nor our valedictorian spoke of. To the vast audience of parents before me, I probably looked as if I was planning some great event in my head. I had not a care in the world.

When it was my turn to receive my diploma, I stalked up to the principal, shook his hand, posed for a quick picture and hurriedly returned to my seat. Once seated again, my mind went back to the clouds.

The very minute the ceremony was over, I set out to find Helena in the sea of people the crowded the outdoor stage. I wove and wove until I found her sitting on a stone bench in the schools small flower garden, sitting beside her parents.

Even after all the time Helena spent with me, her parents resumed to dislike me. In fact, as I strode towards her, I overheard her father mention something about needing to use the bathroom, and he and his wife scurried away.

"Congratulations, Helena!" I cheered, wrapping her in a hug.

"And to you!" she replied happily.

Her and I then wandered away from the crowded school yard and went to the parking lot. It was empty except for a few parents who were there fetching their cars so they, too, could leave and avoid the crowd. I blamed the few not, for some of the parents were so pushy to take pictures of their graduates and their friends that they didn't care if they bumped into you or not.

Helena and I went to my Jetta. She hopped up on the trunk and just stared into the mess of pushy people. I went into my glove box and pulled out my only vice: an old tobacco pipe that I picked up at a thrift store. I pulled it out, and lit it up. I joined Helena at the trunk.

She laughed when she saw the pipe in my mouth.

"Since when do you smoke pipe?" she giggled.

I smiled. "Since I came to the conclusion that cigarettes are not... _peculiar_ enough for me," I replied swiftly.

It was actually thanks to Miss Peregrine that I had picked up pipe smoking. I recalled all the times she and I had spent in private, talking, and she'd pull out her pipe and light it up. The tobacco had always smelled more satisfying to me than cigarette smoke. And when I had found the pipe at the shop, I knew I had to give it a whirl. To my satisfaction, I enjoyed it much so and it was more than enough to calm my nerves.

She laughed again. "Peculiar?" She shook her head, red hair flying about her neck. "Minnette Stonington, what on earth could possibly _not_ be peculiar enough for you?"

"You have no idea," I replied, winking. Taking in the view of the school, I sighed. "I'm surely not going to miss this place."

Helena nodded. "Me neither."

"Minnette!" then called the voice of my father.

I looked to the left to see my parents striding up. They both appeared cool and collected. For once, I could actually sense their pride in me. They looked like all the other normal parents, both by their clothing and by their posture. The looked positively normal for having such a peculiar daughter.

"Congrats, honey," my mother said, placing a peck on my cheek.

"Congrats, baby," said my father.

"Thanks, guys," I replied.

They took turns greeting Helena, then my father asked her if she was excited to go off for college.

Just then, on the edge of the woods that lay to the left of the parking lot, I saw something very unexpected. There, perched on a low tree branch, was rather a large bird. A bird in grey color. I knew a lot of birds, but this was without a doubt one of the biggest birds I had ever seen. Suddenly, my heart began to feel warm.

Miss Peregrine!

"I'll be right back, guys!" I said happily as I swept off the trunk of the car and bolted toward the woods.

Just the thought of Miss Peregrine coming to see me overjoyed me. I ran as fast as I could to the woods. The closer I got, the more excited I became. I was about to burst when I neared her, but was disappointed quickly when the falcon spread her wings and took off deeper into the woods.

I halted.

I hadn't used the Ymbryne language much since I had left, but I decided to attempt at it. I pursed my lips. " _Miss Peregrine?"_ I was extra careful not to let anyone hear me.

No answer.

That stung a little. Miss Peregrine had to know how much I was missing her and the children, and there was no doubt that they were missing me just as well. It would be unlike Miss Peregrine to visit me without a word, unless she anticipated someone to come up behind me. To hear my cooing and squawking would most likely unnerve a normal.

I would remember to ask Miss Peregrine when I saw her next.

I sulked back to the car to, thankfully, discover that my parents and Helena were jabbering away, and had not paid attention to my outburst. I would've felt like a fool had they seen me chase after a falcon which chose to elude me.

"You okay?" Helena asked when she noticed me.

I stiffened. I could not lead anyone onto anything they wouldn't understand.

"I am."

And from that moment on, I silently vowed myself to never chase falcons in this world ever again, even if they were speaking Ymbryne at me.

 **A/N: Sorry if this chapter was boring, but it was rather necessary. Promise.**


	3. Going Home

As excited as I was that the day to leave America finally arrived, I packed my things slowly. Not because I would miss it terribly here, but because I was taking the time to enjoy all of my belongings, and was expressing internally how thankful I was to have everything material that I had. Although, in my heart, my life in the loop, and my families meant more to me, the material objects had made the long months easier. I started with my clothes, my shoes and my accessories, to move onto what few heirlooms I owned, to finally finish with my personals, my journal from Miss Peregrine, my camera and rolls of film, my scrapbook of photos.

I decided last minute to leave my room as it was, in case there was a happenstance where I would be forced to come back. In my mind, I kept telling myself that it would be prevalent to visit my family every once-in-a-while, to keep the fabrication of going to University in London alive. There was a chance that my parents would call me or even send me letters while I was in the loop, in which case, I would have to come up with a way to know about such on-goings.

The last object to go in my suitcase was my stuffed raven. I zipped the zipper and sighed a sigh of relief. I was just hours away from being home.

A small knock came from my door.

"Come in," I invited.

My father stepped into the room. "Hey, sweetheart, you almost packed?" he asked, taking in the sight of the pile of luggage I had.

"Yep. All done," I replied, smacking my hand against the top of my trunk. "And all ready to fly to London."

He nodded and he slowly walked across my room. He sat at my bay window seat and he gazed at me as if I were in old painting hanging in a museum. I could tell by his expression alone that he was going to miss me, even if only a little. Him and I had been much closer than my mother and I had ever been. Mainly due to the fact that my mother's adoration and obsession over material objects such as purses, jewelry and expensive cell phones was so different to my idea that a mother should revolve around keeping her household in order, just as Miss Peregrine tended to the loop and everything in it. My father had never really ignored my existence nearly as much as my sister and my mother did. Claire wasn't really fond of our father too much, so I think he had taken to me when I was young. And, in truth, I know that he really wasn't fond of all the partying and the mischievous acts my mother and sister were in to. He just followed my mother around like a dog in order to prove his loyalty to her. He did, however had a few slips in the past where he'd get drunk and make odd comments to me. His comments were mocking, but never too hurtful.

"I'm going to miss you," he admitted in a low whisper.

"And I , you, Dad."

He lowered his head and studied the patterns on his sneakers. "You don't know how proud I am of you. For not being afraid to be unique, unlike the rest of us. You're actually making something of your life. I know your Mom has a hard time expressing herself to you sometimes, but she, too, is as proud as I am."

I sighed. "Dad, it's all right. You don't have to get all poetic and soggy on me, just because I'm flying half-way across the world to study some birds."

He laughed. "Well, I just wanted you to know that I love you very much."

"I love you, too, Dad."

He then got up and grabbed my trunk. I stuffed my arms full of bags and we began to load them in his car. He was driving me to the airport; no sense of driving my Jetta just to leave it in the airport parking lot again. As soon as the car was loaded up, I got in the front seat. My Mom was at work and I had said goodbye to her earlier that morning. I took one good look at my house as my father started the car. As it shrank in the rearview mirror, I couldn't help but wonder exactly how long it would be before I stepped foot in it again.

The plane ride was terribly crowded, and it seemed to take forever. It was true that I was landing in London, but there I would board a ferry and travel to Cairnholm. Once on the island, I would lug all of my belongings to the opposite side of the island and drag it through the cairn. I was beyond hopeful that one of the children would notice me with all my things and would approach me to help.

I counted thirty seven other people on the plane, and more than half of them were talking, turning the plane into nothing less than a large flying box of noise. I attempted so hard to catch a nap, and after a while of fighting the noise, I was successful, and managed to snooze through the second half of the flight.

By the time I arrived at the docks, it was late into the evening. By the time I was all loaded onto the ferry, stars plastered the night sky. I lay on the deck of the ferry upon a bench, lit pipe between my lips. I puffed every few minutes or so, and with each puff came a different thought. Such as: If I didn't require luggage, I could have well flown to the island, rather than ride the ferry with the few tourists that were aboard. I had made it apparent to observe every person who stepped foot on the ferry, even the ones who worked upon it. None of them appeared to be wights, and if any of them were, they were much too good at disguising themself. I would report to Miss Peregrine my observations.

An older gentleman with a camera dangling from his neck came up to the deck and stood across from me. I noticed him look me up-and-down.

"It ain't very often a man runs into a wee lassie smokin' a pipe," he commented in a thick Irish brogue. He began to laugh hysterically for a few moments. He then reached into his coat pocket and produced a pipe. He lit it and took a big puff. "Tell me, lass, 'ave ya been to Cairnholm before?"

I smiled at the thickness of his accent. "I have indeed."

"What be your business there?" he asked curiously.

Although I saw no harm in the man, I thought it astute to take precautions. "Visiting an old friend," I replied.

"Ahhhhhh. I am simply 'ere to study birds."

Birds. That caught my attention. I took it upon myself to take in every detail about this man. I would have to make sure that he was well far off from me when I made my way to the cairn. Last thing I wanted to be doing was bringing strangers into the loop.

I stayed quiet enough that the man returned to the bottom deck without another word.

Once on Cairnholm, it was well past sunrise. I loaded all my luggage onto a dolly that a man on the ferry was kind enough to give me, so at least my things were now on wheels. I dragged the dolly into town and stopped at the pub. I was hungry so I ordered a burger and some chips (fries.) I savored every bite since I knew it would be a long while before I would get to indulge in another burger.

You would think that people would ask why I was lugging so much stuff through town, but no one did, thankfully. My things were heavy and I was tired so it took me a while to even reach the outside of town. I made many stops to catch my breath and I even smoked a couple of pipes. I was so glad that I had made it through town without so much as a person talking to me. On my way up to the cairn, I made sure to turn around every once-in-a-while to assure no one was following me.

By the time I reached the cairn, my arms were jello and I felt like I had run a marathon. But I felt accomplished. My home was just on the other side. I headed in with a will, pulling my dolly with all my might. The smell of the cairn was so familiar to my nostrils that it was almost as comforting as a welcome-home embrace. My heart was pounding with excitement and the instant that I stepped foot out of the loop, and my feet touched the brilliant bright green grass, and the aroma of the thousands of flowers in the garden began to fill me, my excitement seemed to turn itself into a small headache.

There it was: Miss Peregrine's house, spread before me in all its glory. I heard the sweet sound of little Claire and Olive playing in the courtyard. From where I stood I could see the lot of the children around the front of the house.

It was a beautiful sight. I felt the same way I did the very first time I ever laid eyes on that big house.

Pulling my dolly in tow, I hoofed it up to the front path as fast as my sore legs would carry me.

When I reached the edge of the terrace, I threw my dolly on the ground and I spread my arms.

"OH, YOU BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN!" I said stridently.

They all paused, but only for a mere second. When they noticed who I was, they all began to yell and bolt at me.

"MINNETTEEEEEEEEEE!" screamed Claire happily.

Claire leaped into my arms and held tightly to my figure. Olive, Bronwyn and Fiona all wrapped themselves around my skirt. Enoch, Horace and Hugh all stood by laughing.

"It's so delightful to see you all!" I cried happily.

After moments of embracing, I took a breather and grabbed hold of my dolly, but Horace and Enoch took it from me, and insisted that the lady didn't need to haul her own luggage.

"Oh, Minnette! Miss Peregrine will be happy to see you!" bragged Olive.

I held out my hands. "Well, then, my darlings, I beg you, take me to her!"

Fiona and Claire each grabbed one of my hands and began leading me toward the house. How happy I was to finally be home.


	4. Home, At Last

I hadn't been in the loop five minutes and I was already thrilled to begin my new life as a ymbryne. It wouldn't be for a while that I was sent to Miss Avocet's, but I was eager to see what the next year of my life would bring.

The children all chitter-chattered happily as we walked up the path to the house together. They had instantly lifted into high spirits when I arrived, and it was as if they all had uber sugar rushes. It was adorable in my mind, but Miss Peregrine probably wouldn't think too much of their bounciness.

I couldn't contain myself, either. The sight of the children had made me forget about all the hardships I had pushed through to get here during the school year. None of it mattered anymore, all that mattered was here-and-now, the pleasant sight of the peculiar children, the big house, the aroma of flowers, the fact that I was on my way to visit my mother-like mentor.

As Claire and Olive took me up on the porch, the big oak door flew open, and Emma launched herself at me, catching me well off guard, embracing me tightly.

"Oh, Minnette!" she cried. "We are all so joyed you came back to us!"

I held onto Emma tightly for a mere moment then released her so I could look her in the face. Her big blue eyes appeared bluer than ever. "I do believe I promised a certain _bird_ that I would return," I replied. I wasn't in my world anymore, I had to wake up the proper side of myself. "I'll have you know, Miss Bloom, that I never break promises."

She grinned hugely, happy to see me- and my etiquette of the times- had returned to stay. Well, in Peculiardom, not in Miss Peregrine's loop. She hugged me again.

"Well, well, well, look who it is," I heard the voice of Jacob. He stepped onto the porch beside Emma and took her hand. "Welcome back, Minnette."

"Thank you, Jacob," I said gracefully.

"Miss Peregrine will be delighted to see you," he stated, matter-of-factly, as if I already didn't know.

"And I, her."

He grinned. "She's in the dinning room setting things up for lunch, I suggest you go and see her."

And with not another word, Emma and Jacob bound off the porch and took off for the garden. The other children dispersed as well, going all separate ways, except Horace, who lugged my luggage inside the house for me. I asked him to leave it by the stairs, I would take care of it later, and he thanked me, then went back outside.

Before I had went home to America to finish school, there had been wights about Cairnholm. Not just any wights, either, they had been under rule of Caul Bentham, Miss Peregrine's own brother. He was a ghastly man. He had landed on Cairnholm one day, only to be sensed by Miss Peregrine, who had attempted to lead him to the other side of the island, so he would not find the house nor the children. She had succeeded to a point, but had managed to get herself abducted in the process. That had been the day that my ymbrynehood was out in the loop, and I had flown to save her, leaving the children to guard the house. As far as I knew, according to Miss Peregrine's weekly letters, no wights had been spotted on the island since. Not one hollow, either, according to a letter I received from both Emma and Jacob.

I throughly enjoyed the letters I received from the loop; it gave me something to look forward to every week. Miss Peregrine had it all well-planned-out. She would send out her letters on a Wednesday afternoon, and they always reached my mailbox by the following Tuesday morning. I would wait for the mailman before school on Tuesdays and there wasn't a Tuesday that I walked into school that there wasn't at least one letter in my hand.

I slowly stepped through the drawing room, until I came to the double glass doors that led into the dinning room. It was odd, Miss Peregrine had had curtains hanging on the doors, probably because of something Millard did. That whimsical invisible boy was always finding ways to get into trouble. He was a sweet boy though and would do anything to make any one of us laugh on a bad day.

I went to the curtains and slowly pulled one open. I smiled as I saw the figure of Miss Peregrine, sitting at her usual spot at the head of the table, fountain pen in hand as she scrawled something on a piece of paper. From what I could see, she looked exactly the same: astonishingly beautiful. She bore that same stone-cold expression she wore whilst she was neither talking or showing any emotion. It gave strangers the impression that she was a mean woman, which she indeed was not, but it kept questioning normals at bay.

As I reached for the door handle, Miss Peregrine reached for a cup of tea. She raised it to her mouth.

My hand touched the cool brass handle, and suddenly, Miss Peregrine's head shot up. Her ymbryne senses must have been picking up on my presence. Ymbrynes could sense when other ymbrynes were around.

Miss Peregrine dropped the cup of tea, a huge look of surprise on her face. The tea cup hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces. She paid no mind to it as her face lit up into a big grin.

I quickly pushed through the doors.

"Miss Stonington!" she cried joyously.

I hadn't even just stepped into the room when I felt her arms around me in a tight, motherly embrace. As skinny as she was, her embrace felt as warm as a woodstove. My ymbryne empathy was informing me that the woman was absolutely gushing inside over my return. She'd be affectionate only for a short time, for she wouldn't want the children to see her being too soft.

" _It's so good to see that you're safe, Miss Stonington,"_ she cooed in ymbryne, " _do forgive me, but, I was rather concerned about your welfare. What with the wights being about, and all_."

" _I can assure you, Headmistress, there is neither wight nor hollow back home_."

She stepped back from me and looked me up-and-down. "You've been practicing. Your enunciation of words is impressive."

I nodded. "I set aside special times each evening to practice everything you taught me."

Miss Peregrine gave me a small, approving nod and went to her seat. "I was just writing Miss Avocet, stating that you would be arriving any day now. I will admit that I did not expect you to return so hastily, especially after your graduation ceremony," she explained.

An image of the peregrine falcon I had seen in the woods by the school came to mind. "That _was_ you!" I exclaimed.

She smiled. "Why, yes, indeed it was."

I immediately remembered the day I had left, when Emma had came into my room and explained what an honor it was for me to be in Miss Peregrine's loop. Apparently the presence of a fledgling was not taken lightly to an elder ymbryne, as the presence of any other peculiar child, it indeed was a great honor. And to think that the ymbryne council had chosen to send me to Miss Peregrine. Perhaps, they, too, had noticed that she needed something significantly honorable in her life. Weather she actually saw things the way Emma predicted, I felt I'd never know.

She motioned me to sit beside her, and I did so.

She began to scrawl out a new letter to Miss Avocet, explaining that I had arrived and I was safe.

I watched intently as she wrote. "Miss Peregrine?" I asked.

"Hmmm?" she replied, not lifting her head.

I cleared my throat. "How long, do you suppose, will it be before Miss Avocet summons me?" I asked. I had just returned to the loop and I was already bringing up the subject on when I would be leaving again.

Miss Peregrine chuckled. "Miss Avocet does not summon anyone," she replied, as she began to quicken her writing. "She will arrive here and escort you back to London, personally. Although, when, I cannot tell."

 _Great_ , I thought. _I could be here for two days, or two months._

I was not a fan of unpredictability, but the peculiar lifestyle had taught me that one must make peace with it, in order to survive. Wights or hollows could appear at any moment, normals could catch onto you at any moment, an ymbryne could be captured at any moment. Yes, it seemed that in the peculiar world a person had to remain on their toes quite often.

The fact that any day now, any given moment, Miss Avocet would arrive and sweep me away to London bothered me a bit; I wanted some time to spend with the children and Miss Peregrine.

"Tell me, child, have you flown recently?"

"I have," I replied.

Miss Peregrine then singed the bottom of the letter she had been composing, and she began to fold it. As she continued to place the letter in an envelope and seal it, I told her of the cool nights I would sneak from my window to the roof, and soar high above the New York countryside. I proudly reported to her that I had not yet one accident whilst flying. Stating she was proud of me, she pulled out her pocket watch and glanced at it.

"Oh, look at the time," she said. "It is time to prepare lunch."

"Would you care for some help?"

She shook her head. "No, I thank you, Miss Stonington, but I have already prepared the majority of the food. I suggest you take your things to your room."

I took that as a sign that she wanted to be left alone for a bit, so, respectfully, I left her alone. I hauled my things to my old quarters to discover that not a thing had changed. I felt a sensation of warmth come over me as I threw my suitcase upon the bed and opened it.

The only things I removed from the packing was my camera, a nightgown, two outfits and the journal Miss Peregrine had given me. The camera and journal were placed on my nightstand, along with my fountain pen, and my measly two outfits were placed in the wardrobe. I left my trunk and other things in the corner.

I then hopped on my bed and grabbed my journal. I dipped my fountain pen in its ink and opened a fresh page.

7/3/17 (Miss Peregrine's Loop: September 3, 1940)

I have finally arrived home to the world of Peculiardom. The journey was long and tiring, but I am overjoyed to be back in the loop with all my friends. Miss Peregrine has not changed at all, and neither have any of the children. The loop remains in fine condition.

Then BAM! It hit me. I forgot that I had a small gift for Miss Peregrine in my trunk. Closing my journal, I put it on the nightstand and went to the trunk. I took it off the dolly, and whipped open the top. In the trunk was a menagerie of heirlooms and memorabilia. Such included, photo albums, my favorite stuffed teddy bear from when I was a small child, letters from my grandmother before she had passed, my scrapbooks and loads of other things, all of which held a certain significance to me. I could have chosen to leave all these things back in America, but once I was in a loop of my own someday, I wouldn't be leaving, and I doubted that I would want to return to collect my things.

I reached inside my jewelery box which was packed at the bottom of the trunk, and pulled out the zippo flip-lighter I had ordered Miss Peregrine online. It happened to be advertised on a Facebook page for funding for the conservation of wild Peregrine falcons, and I just had to order one. I also had one ordered for me with a raven on it for myself.

I changed into a light black long-sleeved V-neck and a black skirt that touched the floor. I was busy brushing my hair out, preparing to pin it up, when there was a knock at my door.

"You may enter," I said.

I turned to see the figure of Hugh enter. He had a small smile on his face, and he had bees clung to his chest. They buzzed quietly.

"Hello, Hugh!" I greeted excitedly, my hands holding my hair above my head as I shoved pins in it.

He grinned. "Hello, Minnette. Miss Peregrine asked me to tell you that lunch will be served in five minutes."

"Thank you, Hugh," I said. "Please inform Headmistress that I will be along in a few."

He nodded then wandered off.

After wrestling with my hair for a while, I finally got it into a decent updo. I took one good look at myself in the mirror, decided that I was too tired to look any better, I gave myself a approving nod, then made my way down to the dinning room.


	5. An Unfortunate Encounter

After spending the day visting with everyone, I found myself utterly exhausted. I actually went to bed earlier than the children, and I was at peace with it. I slept like a rock and I went undisturbed for the whole of the night.

The next day, I found myself galumphing about with the children. When I had awoken I had went to Miss Peregrine in hope that she would accept my help caring for daily duties. To much surprise she declined my offer. She explained that she wished for me to relax for the day, and suggested that my life had been much too serious the past year. She might have been a woman who rather enjoyed productiveness, but even she had to admit that letting lose every once-in-a-while was good for the soul.

Firstly, the children and I enjoyed a heavy breakfast that Miss Peregrine prepared. The amount of food that we all consumed was ridiculous. There was no doubt that we were all we satisfied when the children began to file from the dinning room.

Before heading outside, I approached Miss Peregrine. I reached into the pocket on my skirt and revealed the falcon lighter.

"What is this, Miss Stonington?" Miss Peregrine asked me.

I gave her a sly smirk, and flipped the top of the lighter. The lighter sparked then ignited.

"This, Headmistress," I said, holding it up to her, "is the highest of quality lighters. And this one, happens to be for you."

I put the flame out, handing it to her, making sure that the falcon immediately caught her eyes.

"My goodness!" she exclaimed when her green eyes caught the image of the peregrine falcon. "I've never seen such an item. And the peregrine is rather... gallant." She held the lighter to her for a moment. "Thank you."

Leaving her to disappear into the world of dirty dishes and dust mops, I made my way to the garden, where I found the children at play. Millard, Enoch, Horace, Hugh and Jake were taking part in what appeared to be rather a heated game of soccer. Whilst the boys played, Emma was reclined under a tree, barefoot, with a book in her grasp. Bronwyn was across the lawn, picking up anything bulky she could find to throw into the woods. Little Claire was swinging on the tire swing, and Olive was balancing on a branch of the tree the swing hung from. I caught a glimpse of Fiona nestled between two bushes, growing some flowers from some seeds she spread.

I took it all in. The sights of all the children playing about the yard filled me with such a warmth that I felt as if I could not possibly bear to be separated from Peculiardom again. It was a feeling that I was becoming more and more used to as the days went by. It was a feeling that I hoped, deeply, and with all my heart, that would remain inside me forever.

"Minnette!" called Emma from her book when she took notice of me.

Weaving past the boys, I jogged to her side and sat next to her. She was reading a romance novel- I could tell by the couple kissing on the book cover- that looked as if it was older than me. The cover was leather with the pictures etched into its surface.

Emma sighed and closed her book. "You really have no clue how wonderful it is to have you back," she admitted, her eyes focused on the group of scrambling boys. "They seemed so put out when you left."

I felt a small sting in my heart. The day I had went back to America, the mood of the loop had seemed to dull right before my eyes. I soon found myself in a stretch of a fews days where I was constantly trying to assure myself that I had made a good decision.

"I'm sorry, Emma," I replied. "But I had to go."

"I know. I understand. It was the rest that had a difficult time grasping the fact that you would come back."

"But I promised," I reminded her.

She nodded. "Indeed you did. Unfortunately the rest of us have been disappointed many times before by past peculiars. A promise is hardly a believable thing in our loop anymore. They've hurt Miss Peregrine the most, though."

I began to fiddle with my fingernails. I didn't ever want to hurt anyone in the loop, especially Miss Peregrine. Losing so many children in the past- no matter to what circumstances- had taken its toll on the Ymbryne, and she wasn't deserving of any more pain. I guess Emma was right, they truly were glad that I had returned.

Just then, Fiona, who must have escaped the garden earlier, came running up to us.

"Minnette! Emma!" she huffed. "There's a policeman at the door. He says he wants to speak to whoever is in charge, but I can't find Miss Peregrine anywhere."

I looked at Emma.

Emma groaned and shook her head. "The pub," she said.

"The pub?" I asked.

"Yes, yes, the bloody pub! Yesterday, before you arrived, Jacob, Olive, Millard and I went into town, in search of some sweets we could buy to share after supper. Well, let's just say that the bloody pub owner managed to tip off Olive, and Millard broke some of his windows with rocks." She then raised her book to her forehead shamefully and groaned again.

Where could Miss Peregrine be? Although I was not yet familiar with my inner ymbryne senses, they were telling me that she was in the vicinity. I could feel her presence, but it wasn't like she was right next to me. She must have been somewhere where the children were not permitted to go. I was stunned for a moment.

Finally Emma lifted her head and looked me dead in the eyes. "You'd better go, Minnette. After all, you are an ymbryne."

Not totally confident in myself, I twisted my face in an odd manner and got to my feet. I had absolutely no experience in dealing with the law. I wouldn't have a clue what to say to a policeman in my world, let alone what to speak about to a policeman from 1940. I made my way to the house, hoping with all my might that Miss Peregrine would appear and take care of business for me.

But, alas, no Miss Peregrine.

When I reached the front door, I found myself looking into the face of not one man, but two. The officer was clad in the overly expected blue uniform. The man who stood beside him was stout, wore an aged waistcoat and bore the nastiest frown I had ever seen on someone on Cairnholm. They both looked surprised when I strode up to the door, which Fiona had left wide open.

"You there!" hissed the stout man.

Emma had stuck to my heels, and I felt her hand grab onto the backside of my arm.

Deciding that it was a wise decision to act experienced with the law, I stiffened my posture. _Be the Bird_ , I told myself. "Yes, gentlemen," I said, "how may I assist you?"

The officer presumed to peer around me at Emma, who looked nor acted afraid at all. He did not appear as nearly as angry as the other man did.

"And who might you be?" the officer asked in a low, serious tone.

Immediately I offered my hand. "Headmistress Raven," I stated. Using the moniker that was to become my permanent name in the peculiar world felt right for this situation. "How do you do?"

The officer went to reach for my hand, but the other man rudely smacked it away.

"We have not come here to get friendly with these people," hissed the man at the officer. He shot a darting look at me. "We are here to complain about your disgraceful pack of children."

Emma squeezed my arm.

Disgraceful? How dare him!

I could feel a small tension begin to rise in me internally. Emma had said that it was the pub owner who had tipped off Olive- and this man in front of me was him, no doubt- which had caused Millard to break his windows with rocks. I knew that Millard was just looking out for young Olive, but I had to make it appear that I considered his choices unnecessary and ridiculous.

"By what right?" I asked the pub owner.

His face began to turn red. "By right of my broken windows, that's what!" he spat. He pointed a finger at Emma. "Ask the lass, she was involved."

Hoping that Emma would get the drift that she had to play along, I crossed my arms. "Is this true, Miss Bloom?" I made sure to keep a Miss Peregrine air about me.

Emma bit her lip, then dangled her head. "It is, Headmistress." She performed well.

"You're damned right it is!" barked the pub owner. He took a step closer to me and I got a hefty whiff of whiskey. "Those children are complete and utter pick-a-ninnies!"

The officer threw an arm in front of the pub owner. "Easy, Greg. No need for that kind of language."

But the man would not settle himself. In fact, he became angrier yet.

He pushed past the officer and advanced closer to me. "I want my bloody windows replaced! And I want your children banned from the village!"

I was becoming defensive. "You have not the right to banish my children from anywhere," I replied calmly, yet lowly.

The man bore his yellow teeth then got right in my face. The smell of whiskey on his breath was beyond overpowering. He soon was so close to me that I almost vomited due to the stench. "Listen, woman, I want my windows replaced. Installed and bought, before the week is out. Or I will come up here and rid the world of every last one of you. These children are monsters; no one would miss them."

"THEY ARE NOT MONSTERS!" came a voice from behind Emma and I.

I whirled on my heel to see Miss Peregrine standing half-way up the staircase, crossbow in hand, aimed at the pub owner. She looked completely and utterly ticked off. I felt a wave of relief fall off me. She jumped in at just the right time.

"Oi! Who are you?" asked the officer. He didn't seem alarmed at the fact that she had a crossbow aimed in his general direction. I quickly observed his person, why, he was unarmed.

She crept down the stairs, not breaking her aim, and came to stand beside me. "Headmistress Alma LeFay Peregrine," she said darkly. "This is my home, and these are my wards, and you, good sir, are tresspassing on my property." As angry as she was, she remained polite and kept her wits about her.

Just then, without any forewarning, the man lunged forward, his hand encircling my neck. I began to twist and turn as he began to choke me. I cried out.

A crossbow bolt came hurling over my shoulder, and hit the man in his eye socket. He made not a peep as his hands went limp, releasing me, and he fell to the floor. The man's blood had squirted outwardly and had covered my face and neck. I fell to the floor, and grabbed at my neck, stunned that someone actually had enough guts to try and choke me before Miss Peregrine. Emma got on the floor beside me and held my hand as I tried to regain myself.

I couldn't believe it. Miss Peregrine had killed someone! I knew that she was sworn to protect us, but I never expected her to shoot a human like she just had.

The officer looked so stunned that he say not a word, he stood idle with his jaw agape. It was odd to me that he seemed not a very brave law enforcer; Cairnholm must have been a peaceful place, until today.

Miss Peregrine advanced on him. She broke aim, and swung her crossbow and rested it on her shoulder. She seemed to look down at the man. She then reached in her pocket and pulled out a long, gray feather. I recognized it as one from her alternate form. She went to the officer, and waved the feather in his face in a peculiar way, like a shaman casting a spell. She mumbled something in a language I had never heard.

"I suggest that you forget what you previously encountered," Miss Peregrine said, in a really deep tone. Our Ymbryne sounded angry, evil- in a very subtle way- even.

I watched in awe as the officers eyes became big, he nodded distantly, then began to walk from the house. As soon as he was off the lawn and had entered the woods heading back toward town, Miss Peregrine lowered herself to her knees and set her crossbow down. For a moment she stroked my hair as I managed to regulate my breathing. I put a couple of fingers under my chin and gently raised my gaze to look her in the eyes.

"It's all right," she cooed in human. "Just breathe, my dear."

Emma had leaned herself up against the door frame and was staring out into the countryside. She sighed. "I hate humans," she stated. "All they ever do is try to hurt us."

Miss Peregrine made a small sound, acknowledging what she was speaking about. "I'm rather not fond of them, either, Miss Bloom, but they are the habitual species no matter where we go, so, alas, we must acknowledge- and avoid- their presence."

The way Miss Peregrine gently stroked my hair seemed to relax me more than any massage I had ever received. Weather it was my ymbryne senses magnifying the comforting energy she dispelled, or just the comfort of having her mother-like comfort that was causing me too feel so relaxed, I did not know, nor did I care. I wasn't that shaken up, but I was shaken up enough to sit idle for a few moments.

"Why, Miss Stonington," Miss Peregrine said after a few moments. "This was quite an unfortunate encounter." She looked out at the corpse of the pub owner. "Miss Bloom, please go and check on the others, and make it so they are unaware of what just happened."

Emma nodded then walked off.

Miss Peregrine helped me to my feet. She brushed off my shirt for me and she examined my neck withe tender fingers. "There may be some bruising," she said. "In which case, we will have to think of a proper explanation for the children."

"I am stunned," I admitted, "that you actually killed someone."

"All in sake of the children," she replied. She bent down and collected her crossbow. "Had he not attacked you, he could have walked away with his chum." I watched as she loaded another bolt into the crossbow with ease. "You will learn, Miss Stonington, that even in this world, violence is not completely inevitable. In fact, when it comes to the protection of the wards as a whole, it is _required._ This is something that you will learn undoubtedly and without regret from Miss Avocet."

Miss Peregrine moved to the corpse, and nudged it with her foot. I wondered what was going through her mind.

"Miss Peregrine?"

"Hmmm?"

"What was that _thing_ you did with the feather?" I asked.

She stiffened. "Oh, that. Well, that is something you shall learn from Miss Avocet, as well." She spoke in a way that was a mixture of mysterious and haughtily. It was obvious that she would speak no more on the matter.

Jacob then came jogging over from around the house. Emma must have sent him.

"Mister Portman, would you be so kind as to hide our friend?" Miss Peregrine asked, pointing to the corpse.

Jacob looked questioningly at me when he saw me coated in blood. Emma must have told him about Miss Peregrine knocking off a man, but must have forgotten to explain why she had to knock off said man. He gazed at me for a moment, then, quickly bent down, collected the corpse and began to drag it across the lawn.

"Miss Stonington I suggest you go and bathe yourself," said Miss Peregrine. "I have wards to punish." Throwing her crossbow back on her shoulder again, she strode off the porch and rounded the house.


	6. A Not-So-Perfect Day

**A/N: I am dearly sorry that I have not updated. I've been busy adulting and I had a hard time thinking of ideas. Sorry this chapter is so short. I have to get back into the swing of things.**

That evening, supper was quiet. Normally we all bustled back-and-forth, laughing and talking of whatever subjects brought themselves to the table. But not this night. This night it was silent except for the sound of forks scraping plates. I ate slowly, eyeing Miss Peregrine as she ate. I had always enjoyed the way Miss Peregrine had taken her meals. She was unafraid of using her hands, and she'd use her talon-like finger nails to dig into whatever her heart desired. And the way food got into her mouth was an odd act that was between the bite of a human and a peck of a bird. For example, if she was eating a goose leg, she'd peck a good chunk of meat off the bone and allow the grizzle to fall from her mouth, rather than using a napkin. Funny thing was that the way it happened was not sloppy or rude at all. Miss Peregrine had a way of being her absolute self whilst still keeping her prim-and-proper ways. After all this time, I was finally beginning to notice just how falcon-like some of her everyday maneuvers were. Any other normal person would have probably thought that our Ymbryne's way of eating was ridiculous and sloppy. But not to us. It was an act that was accepted wholly and was rather interesting to watch.

Not a single word came from any of the children's mouths. After I had bathed and scrubbed the blood off me, I had come down for dinner at the usual five-thirty and not one person spoke. Miss Peregrine must have told the children of the on-going.

Once the awkward, silent dinner was up, Miss Peregrine asked me to meet her in the drawing room when she was done washing dishes.

I waited in the drawing room for her. I was curled up on the settee before the hearth, my nose buried in a book about the lifestyle of ravens. I studied ravens often, in case I ever had to act like a regular bird.

Miss Peregrine came in soon after.

"The children know of this morning's ongoing," she explained. "Apparently Mr. Nullings was an innocent bystander."

I raised my eyes from my book. "Such does not surprise me," I replied. "Mr. Nulling's is always eavesdropping."

It was to my understanding that keeping the children safe from harm was a harder job than I suspected. Since Miss Peregrine had killed the pub owner, I couldn't help but wonder just what kind of danger I would find myself in the future, when I was an ymbryne, and had my own house of wards. I knew that once the loop reset the man would once again be alive and not remember a thing, but just the fact that Miss Peregrine had to _kill_ another being irked me deeply.

Miss Peregrine took a seat adjacent from me and pulled out a pipe. She lit it and took a few thoughtful puffs.

"If you are to become a proper ymbryne- and I have no doubt that you will- you must be willing to place yourself in the path of any danger that threatens your children." She puffed the pipe once more. "Miss Avocet will teach you many different ways of protecting yourself."

I folded my book closed and set it on the settee beside me. "I'm not sure if I can be violent though, Miss Peregrine," I explained to her.

"As I said before, my dear Miss Stonington, violence is utterly _inevitable_ in our world."

I sighed. "Well, if it is as inevitable as you say it is, I suppose I will have to prepare myself mentally."

Miss Peregrine's bright green eyes wandered out the nearest window. "Indeed," she said. "This is rather an honorable gift you've been given, Miss Stonington," she said, referring to my ymbrynism. "I hope you find this lifestyle beneficial."

I smiled at her. "I'm sure I will."

Just then, the grandfather clock in the corner of the parlor began to chime. Miss Peregrine whipped out her pocket watch and glanced at it.

"My, my, my, is it that time already?" She slid the watch back into her pocket. "It is time for me to mind the reset. Miss Stonington, would you care to assist me?"

My face lit up. "Why, I'd be honored."

Never once had I gotten the chance to watch Miss Peregrine tend to the loop up close. The children had described to me on many occasions what it was like, but that was as close as I had ever gotten. I probably would have had a greater chance if, when I had first met Miss Peregrine, she had not been shot out of the sky by her own brother. Those few weeks of her recovery left no time for extra activities. Miss Avocet had been present whilst Miss Peregrine had been wounded, and she had minded the loop.

Miss Peregrine went to the kitchen, and returned with a small clock in her hand. She also was carrying a gas mask.

"Would you care for a mask?" she asked, holding it out to me.

"Must I?"

Miss Peregrine chuckled. "If you wish to be without one, I will not force you. I only require the children to wear them for proper safety purposes."

She then strode from the house to the back garden, and I followed her.

"Now, Miss Peregrine," I began as we walked alongside one another, "do tell me if I am wrong, but, the children should not need the masks, right? Unless the loop was to slip?"

"You are most correct," she replied. "Undoubtedly the loop shall not slip." There was pride in her voice. "You will understand, too, one day."

We soon were in the back lawn. Miss Peregrine had a phonograph strategically placed beneath a tree. She set the clock on it, then placed the record in place so it would play.

"I use this song to calculate when I am to begin the reset," she explained as the air began to fill with old fashioned music.

Run rabbit, run rabbit,

run, run, run...

Miss Peregrine assumed a stiff stature and she pulled her pocket watch from her coat. She shot me an excited glance and winked at me.

The familiar racket of the on-coming Nazi bomber planes began to rumble through the silence of the night. As many times as I had heard them approaching, the loud noise of the engines still managed to send a tingle of worry down my spine. I knew that I was perfectly safe, but there always was that very slim possibility that something could happen.

The song progressed on, ringing out about a farmer and a gun.

Two bombers flew overhead, roaring as they neared.

Behind us, a bright flash went off. The bombs that had hit the village.

"Ready?" Miss Peregrine asked me as the particular plane that was meant to destroy us came into sight.

"Ready," I confirmed.

The plane approached, slowing its speed. A small chamber opened from the bottom, and a large bomb appeared. Soon it was plummeting toward our house.

Closer and closer it drew, and the more anxious I began to feel. This was my first time witnessing the reset in-person. It was an event that I was so used to hearing, but never seeing.

The realization that the large metal balloon that was hastily making its way down to us could, by small chance, destroy everything in the loop was a tad unnerving.

I tensed as Miss Peregrine laid a finger to the knob on the pocket watch, and she hastily began to wind it counter-clockwise. The bomb above was so close it had began to whistle, and I stiffened and shut my eyes tightly.

Silence split the night and everything seemed to fall still.

Peeling one eye open, I took notice that as Miss Peregrine's finger winded, the bomb had actually frozen in mid-air. I saw her giggle at my tenseness and I could of sworn that she mumbled something about being a scaredy cat.

I allowed my eyes to open and my body to relax. Amazingly, the bomb began to sail backward through the sky, and it re-entered itself into the plane. Next, all the planes flew tail-first back across our field of view. The brilliant stars in the sky then transformed into the beautiful salmon colored dusk. Clouds began to soar, birds began to chirp, the sky went bright blue, and the song began to twist so the words were unrecognizable.

After just a few moments, it was night again, and Miss Peregrine paused. The phonograph clicked itself off and we stood there in the silence. The clock beside me gave one last tick-tock and it, too, fell idle.

Miss Peregrine's eyes beamed at me from beneath her glasses.

"Spectacular," I commented when I knew it was safe to speak. I scanned the house. "Am I really to do that someday?"

"Indeed," she said with a smile.

The manipulation of time seemed much easier than I had expected.

Miss Peregrine collected her things and made way for the house. I followed close behind her.

"The idea of a loops construction, Miss Stonington," Miss Peregrine said smoothly as we walked into the front hallway side-by-side, "is to aim for what you may call _a perfect day._ "

I followed her into the kitchen where she began to pour two cups of tea.

"A perfect day, Headmistress?"

" It is best if a ymbryne's loop is constructed on a day where nothing terribly unusual- or dangerous- happens amongst the children."

September 3rd, 1940 was no where near perfect, though. Had Miss Peregrine not created a loop, she wouldn't have been before me drinking tea. The Germans would have destroyed everything. I took it that she had been forced to create the loop when she had.

I took the second cup of tea and I sipped it gingerly. "Had you not created the loop on September the third, nineteen forty, you would all be..." I couldn't bring myself to say it.

"Assuredly so," she said flatly. The subject of death was not one you spoke of lightly in her company.

"So, in the case of other loops, they are _perfect_?" I asked, raising a brow.

She sipped her tea and swallowed softly. "As perfect as a day may be. To this day it has irked me that my loop is not perfect. Whilst the other ymbryne's galumph about in their utopias, I am here, sensibly on-guard at all times."

Miss Peregrine's eyes wandered to the tile pattern of the kitchen floor, and I felt the energy she emitted dull. My inner ymbryne senses were informing me that, no matter how hard she attempted to conceal it, Miss Peregrine was an exhausted woman. I wondered if someday, I, too, would be as tired as she was.

Miss Peregrine's gaze met mine and she half-smiled. "For your sake, I hope your loop is the most perfect of them all." She then slowly drew her pocket watch and looked at it. She yawned softly. "I am dearly sorry, Miss Stonington, but I'm afraid it is time for myself to retire."

She then bade me goodnight and wandered off, leaving me to my tea.


	7. Between Pride and Sorrow

**A/N: Hey, guys! I am back! Thank you so much for the support and for your patience. I am happy to say that I am back on Fanfiction for good and I will not be taking anymore extended vacations from writing. Miss Peregrine has been on my mind and I watched the movie to get the Minnette reels cranking again. I started this chapter months ago and finished it today, so if it flows kinda funny, I'm sorry.**

 **Question.**

 **Am I doing all right when it comes to playing the part of Miss Peregrine? Is her dialogue okay and does she act somewhat like you guys expect her to act?**

The next morning, sometime around four a.m., I awoke flabbergastingly from a dead sleep. There was an odd chill in the air, and the wind had picked up outside. For a mere moment I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, curious as to why things felt so different.

First thing's first, the wind never blew at night, not this much. It was totally out of character for the loop. The air had always remained still, after all, we were reliving the same day over and over again. The wind should have not been blowing even the smallest gust, let alone what it was doing just outside my window.

Utterly confused, I slipped from my bed, and went to my French doors. I opened them quietly and stepped out onto the balcony. Everything appeared as it should have. Brilliant crescent moon towering above the treetops, crickets singing, not a single light coming from the house. But the gusts of wind that were subtle yet enough to blow my hair from my face was something that was unexpected and unwelcome.

I wondered if anyone else had noticed.

My ymbryne senses were not what they should have been, but I had been able to use them quite frequently to feel-out Miss Peregrine. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and attempted to focus. To my dismay, I felt her as I always felt her, she was near and was stable.

Breathing lightly, I somehow knew that something was odd, and that Miss Peregrine was unaware of the oddness.

Not thinking of a way to do something about the odd wind, I forced myself back to bed and I allowed the wind gusts to sing me back to sleep.

Hours later, I awoke once more and slipped into a long black sundress. I pinned my hair up and headed from my room.

My expectations to find the children crowded in the dinning room, waiting for Miss Peregrine to serve breakfast were very high. Things in the loop were on a tight schedule and I could only help but expect things to happen at their correct times.

It appeared that my breakfast expectations were much too high.

Perched at the end of the table, with her perfectly pinned gray hair, eyes sunken in due to her age, and familiar sly grin, laughing about with Miss Peregrine, was the figure of the one and only Miss Avocet.

My heart sunk immediately.

Miss Avocet had arrived to take me to Blackpool.

"Miss Stonington!" she exclaimed happily when she took notice of me in the doorway. "What a pleasure it is to see you!"

Knowing that being sent away with her was not an option, I decided to act the part, and I lit my face up with a smile.

"Miss Avocet," I said, "welcome back to Cairnholm."

My eyes wandered in Miss Peregrine's direction. Something felt off about her. I took her in for a moment and studied the features of her face. She looked exactly as she had the night previous. But she felt different. I noticed that there were small bags under her eyes.

"Miss Avocet has come to collect you," Miss Peregrine said proudly. "She will take you to Ymbryne Academy."

I nodded. "I am thrilled," I said with pride.

Miss Peregrine motioned me to sit across from her, in the seat that was to the right of Miss Avocet. Miss Peregrine toddled to the kitchen, and returned with a steaming hot cup of tea. She placed it before me, pecked a kiss on the top of my head and returned to her seat. She could be so flowy when she had to be.

"Now, then," Miss Avocet said, clasping her hands together. "It is rather a journey of variety we must make to Blackpool. "

"Will I be required to fly?" I asked.

Miss Avocet smiled. "Not quite yet. We shall save the Birding for the academy."

Miss Peregrine giggled lowly, and winked at me from behind her glasses. I shot her a small smile. I could feel her absence already, although she was right in front of me. I knew that I would miss Miss Peregrine and the children, but I was sure that I would be allowed to come and visit them.

Miss Peregrine clasped her hands together happily. "Oh, it's been so long since I've been to Ymbryne Academy," she chided. "It feels as if its been decades."

Miss Avocet sipped her tea. "I can assure you, Alma, not much has changed at all," she informed her with a grin. "In fact, if you were to return, you'd find things almost exactly as you left them- save for a small alteration in the kitchen staffing."

I sat silently for a little while and drank my tea as the two ymbrynes chattered about the "good old days," at the academy. They were on the subject of flight lessons when I felt something deep uproot in Miss Peregrine's emotions, and it was almost like I had slipped inside of her feelings.

"Miss Stonington," rang out the voice of Miss Peregrine, withdrawing me from the feelings she emitted. "I suggest you go and pack your bags. I'm sure Miss Avocet would like to get going."

Whether Miss Peregrine liked it or not, I could literally feel her heart start to ache. As amazing as her ability to act opposite of her emotions was, she was human, well, syndrigast human, she was forced to acknowledge that she had feelings altogether.

I gave a quiet "Yes, Headmistress," as I scooted from my seat and strode from the dining room.

Packing my things slowly seemed like a perfect way to prolong my leaving, but all it seemed to do was cause my heart to long more. I folded each piece of clothing sleeve-by-sleeve and cuff-by-cuff, my eyes tracing over every seam of every clothing I owned. I came to finish a lot sooner than I anticipated, and I stood, just taking in the beauty of my bedroom. How beautiful it was, and I couldn't help but wonder just how long it would be before I was to come back to be in it. I was determined to return to Miss Peregrine and the children as soon as my schooling was finished.

Saying farewell to my room mentally, I wiped a single tear from my eye, stiffened my posture, took hold of the fully loaded luggage dolly, and dragged it down the hall, carried it down the vast staircase, and set the bul beside the front door.

I hadn't so much as turned around when I saw Claire come bolting up the hall from the kitchen. She was sobbing. She jumped, latched onto my neck, and muzzled into it. I encircled my arms around her and I carried her to the drawing room.

"It'll be okay, Claire," I cooed. "I'm not going away forever."

"I don't want you to go at all," she sobbed. "I want you to stay and help Miss Peregrine take care of us!"

I ran my hand through her golden curls, and her backmouth stuck out its tongue, licking my fingers, like the way a sad puppy would. The tongue was smooth and warm and it actually freaked me out a little. Ignoring the odd feeling, I allowed the backmouth to continue to lick my fingers until they were soggy. I'm not sure how long I sat there holding onto little Claire, but it had to have been long enough, because before long, the girl began to snore softly against my neck.

Sighing, I gingerly rose from the settee, and carried her down the hall to the dining room, where Miss Peregrine and Miss Avocet still sat. There eyes met me immediately as I entered and went to the place I had sat just a couple hours before.

Miss Peregrine, smiling at me holding Claire, went to stand from her seat.

"It's all right, Miss P," I said, shifting Claire on my shoulder. With my foot, I hooked the chair and pulled it away from the table. "I've got it," I assured her. I scooted the chair out and I sat down in it gently. When I was settled, I lifted my legs and placed them into the empty chair beside me, cradling Claire even closer to me.

"My, my, my, Miss Stonington," whispered Miss Avocet. "What a loving mark you've left on these children."

I wrapped my arms around Claire and snuggled my face into the top of her head. Her curls smelled sweetly of the shampoo that Miss Peregrine handmade from flower extracts.

"I love them," I replied. I looked at Miss Peregrine, whose smile faded a tad.

Miss Peregrine and Miss Avocet exchanged a glance.

"One of the very things I adore about Miss Stonington is her gentility. Surely you recall her kind and loving ways from when she aided you in caring for me after my unfortunate situation," Miss Peregrine chirped.

Miss Avocet sipped her tea. "Of course."

Internally I felt as if I wanted to cry. Externally I did my best to conceal my emotion. I knew Miss Peregrine wanted me to be strong and to simply accept my fate, but as I sat there holding Claire, I found myself questioning everything. I could come back to Miss Peregrine's loop if I pleased, but doing so before my time would be failure. And the last thing I wanted was to disappoint Miss Peregrine.

A while passed whilst Miss Peregrine and Miss Avocet kept on with their chatter. I found myself so comfortable snuggled with Claire that I began to drift off myself.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jerked awake. I looked up into the misty eyes of Miss Peregrine. A quick glance around the room told me that Miss Avocet had left.

"She's out in the garden waiting for you," said Miss Peregrine softly. "I sent Horace to collect your things from your chambers. I suggest you ready yourself." Then the oddest thing happened. Miss Peregrine ran her fingers through the ends of my hair for a mere moment.

"My dear," she added as she withdrew her hand from my raven hair.

Very gingerly she then collected the sleeping Claire from my lap and gathered her in her own arms.

"She will want to bid you farewell with the lot," Miss Peregrine said. "I will go and see to it that she's awake in a timely manner." She then disappeared somewhere into the house carrying Claire.

My heart sank into my chest as I got to my feet and I stretched. Considering that all I had left to do was gather my dolly of luggage, I made my way very slowly through the house. I ran my fingertips over everything I could on my way through the drawing room and out into the hall. For the sake of future reminiscing, I stood in the doorway to the kitchen and just looked around. It would be a long while before I would be able to cook in the kitchen, there was no doubt about that.

I was pulled from my silent sulking by a voice.

"Minnette?" came the voice of Jacob. "Miss Avocet is waiting. Horace brought your luggage down and it's on the porch."

Gulping sadly, I scanned the room one last time and turned slowly.

Jacob patted me on the back as I walked passed him. The house around me had been home for me for only a handful of months, but it was my favorite of my two homes undoubtedly. I would miss it here, the house, the beautiful garden, the children, and especially, Miss Peregrine.

I did everything in my power to subside my urges to sprout tears. Jacob kept his hand on my shoulder and escorted me out the front door.

Outside the children were lined up on each side of the front pathway. Miss Avocet stood at the end, beaming at me. My luggage was perched beside her. The thing that struck me as odd was that Miss Peregrine was nowhere in sight, yet I could feel her ymbryne energy somewhere about the first floor of the house.

I stopped before the children. Most of them had their heads hanging.

At first I didn't know what to say. I could only hope that the children were happy for me to be leaving to assume my place as a future ymbryne, but they were loosing someone who was dear to them. It was obvious they'd miss me as much as I would miss them.

"Come, come, Miss Stonington, my loop is being tended to by a couple of unknowing house maids- we must make haste and head for Blackpool," said Miss Avocet from her place in line.

I slowly walked to the center of the children. Many pairs of downcast eyes were laid upon me and I could do nothing but take in a deep breath. Upon my exhale, I opened my arms and said: "Come here, you beautiful children."

Claire was the first one. Her and Bronwyn wasted no time to wrap me in an embrace. Next came Horace, Enoch, Olive, Emma, Fiona, and the twins. They were immediately followed by Hugh, Jacob and Millard. A few tears escaped my eyes and I buried my nose into as many heads of hair as I could reach, taking in the smell of each child and cherishing it. We stayed a good three or four minutes just wrapped around each other. Never once had I felt so loved in my entire life- and never so sad, either.

Our embrace began to grow high in temperature and one-by-one the children backed off, each of them saying a personal farewell to me. After each child had delivered a declaration of how much they'd miss me, someone behind us cleared their throat and we all whirled to see Miss Peregrine standing on the porch, looking down on us.

"Children," she began. "I know you are all going to miss Minnette very much, but she will return for visits in the future, this I promise you. Now, if you'd be so kind, I'd like to have a moment alone with Minnette and Miss Avocet."

Quietly, sulkingly, the group of children obeyed and they slowly made their way around to the back of the house. Before disappearing around the corner, Emma stopped and smiled at me. She gave a small wave, a nod of her head, and stepped off out of sight.

Miss Peregrine approached me. It was very clear to me that her emotions were starting to get the best of her. Her green eyes were misty. She cupped my face in her hands and looked deeply into my eyes, as if trying to read my soul.

"You are destined for great things, Minnette," she said softly, so Miss Avocet wouldn't hear.

"Although I am much pleased- and beyond proud- to see you off to Ymbryne Academy, I want you to take care. Caul is lurking in the shadows, and belive me, he will return. I hate to have something horrendous happen with you all the way in Blackpool."

A sensation of worry flooded me then. It was radiating off of Miss Peregrine strongly and I bet even Miss Avocet could feel it.

"I'll come back, Miss Peregrine," I assured her. "If anything goes awry here, I will come back to you and the children." It was a promise I knew I would never break.

I had rallied the children and had fought wights off twice before, and, if so, I would hastily do it again.

"Write to me?" Miss Peregrine asked. She slid her hands from my face and took hold of my hands.

"Only everyday," I promised with a smile.

Then she pulled me into a tight, motherly embrace. Her energy shifted and began to subside from worrisome into a mellow level of relaxation. The shift calmed my sadness and I began to feel content again. The embrace lasted a few long moments, and then she stepped back from me, hands on my shoulders.

Miss Avocet approached us, a smile on her face.

"We must be going, Miss Stonington- our ship leaves within the hour."

Miss Peregrine released me and took another step back. She straightened her posture. All deep emotion faded from her face and she assumed her regular, regal stature.

I went to my luggage and took hold of the dolly and tipped it onto its wheels. I watched silently as Miss Avocet informed Miss Peregrine of her expectations that I would be a "wonderful student," and she went on to tell her that I was to be in a class of five other girls. I ran my eyes over every detail of the house one last time, and before I knew it, Miss Avocet was beckoning me to follow her down the path toward the cairn. I made sure that before I stepped into the cairn behind Miss Avocet, I halted and looked back toward the house.

Miss Peregrine stood at the end of the pathway, her eyes never leaving me. Oddly, and not even considering how unprofessional or out of bounds I was being, I kissed my palm and blew it at her. She smiled slightly, bowed her head, and refused to leave her spot as I hauled my luggage into the cairn.


	8. Leaving and Arriving

**A/N: Thank you for all your reviews! I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, but, eh, sometimes boring transitions are inevitable. Thank you to m. 287 for the garden idea!**

Unlike Miss Peregrine, Miss Avocet loved to chitter-chatter. The distance from the cairn, through the loop, and into the modern timeline, Miss Avocet chattered away about how much Blackpool was much different than Cairnholm. When I had first met Miss Avocet, she had come off as a hard woman who stood for no nonsense, but as I listened to her chatter on, I knew that once she was comfortable in a person's presence, their ears were at the mercy of her ramblings.

The journey from Miss Peregrine's house to the docks in town was a good forty-five minute walk, but the entertainment I got from Miss Avocet's rambling was enough to make the walk somewhat short.

When the docks came into view, my eyes caught a sizeable group of people gathered. One-by-one they presented their tickets to a man in a uniform. The ship, a gigantic, floating tankard standing fifty feet tall, slowly rocked with the motion of the gentle waves.

Not even an hour later, we were sailing smoothly across the vast ocean of blue. Before setting sail Miss Avocet mentioned that it was a six-hour ship ride to Blackpool. At the mention of this time span I had been standing at the bow of the ship, my back to the open sea, gazing over Cairnholm one more time. The thought of being six hours away from my peculiar family daunted me. A few times while we were waiting for the boat to set off, I considered going back. I could tell Miss Avocet that I wasn't ready, and I wished to have another year with Miss Peregrine and the children, but, alas, I was too slow and soon Cairnholm was a blob disappearing on the horizon.

Miss Avocet rearranged a small room for us, where she planned on drinking tea and reading an old novel. I was granted permission to nap, so I went into the bedroom and did just that. Trouble was that as soon as I shut my eyes, Miss Avocet was shaking me and declaring it was time to make port.

She hardly spoke a word since we left Cairnholm, and I felt too awkward to try and make conversation with her.

The docks at Blackpool were adjacent to a large pier which held a noisy carnival. As I pulled my luggage behind me down the ramp of the ship, the smell of corn dogs and popcorn suffocated my nose and I was reminded heavily of America. The majority of the other passengers headed for the carnival as soon as they exited the ship. I may have been interested in some cotton candy in another circumstance, but I knew all-too-well that asking Miss Avocet to make a pit stop was out of the question.

"You will find Blackpool to be rather busy compared to what you are accustomed too," Miss Avocet pointed out as she led me onto a cobblestone street. "Unfortunately the majority of these beings roaming about the city are nothing but bunches of rude tourists who come to Blackpool thinking they can escape reality. Ha! Trust me, Miss Stonington, my loop is among the safest part of Blackpool."

Her statement turned out to be extremely true. The street became crowded with groups of loud, intrusive tourists. A few of them bumped into my luggage dolly and spat derogatory phrases at Miss Avocet and I as we made way. The older ymbryne brushed such phrases off and just kept on with her stiff gait.

Blackpool was a dark, gloomy mess of towering buildings and the further down the main drag Miss Avocet led me, the more claustrophobic I began to feel. The city reeked of wet pavement and sea water.

It wasn't until Miss Avocet stopped me in front of a large iron gate that a sense of excitement uprooted in me. On the other side of the immense gate, were wild, twisting vines of a bright green color. The vines stretched upward to a large pane of glass that resembled a greenhouse roof. Plants of every kind were sprawled about within the enclosure on each side of a small, cobblestone footpath. I could see normals meddling about inside the fence.

"What is this place?" I asked Miss Avocet.

"The Blackpool Botanical Garden," she replied proudly. "It is where I have my loop concealed."

At this point I was so curious as to where exactly her loop entrance was that I forgot about Miss Peregrine and Cairnholm for a few minutes. My eyes danced over the menagerie of plants, vines, flowers and other greens as we slowly made our way down the twisting footpath.

"It's a brilliant place to conceal a loop," I remarked to Miss Avocet.

She giggled. "Indeed. The lot of this greenery is highly poisonous- deadly in large quantities. No one with any sense would even consider going around poking amongst them."

Miss Avocet scanned the garden, assuring herself that there were no normals around. Much to my surprise, she led me to a towering stone wall that was absolutely covered in vines that bore red thorns. An uneasy feeling settled in my core and I gripped my dolly handle tightly. This was the same feeling I had felt when I watched Miss Peregrine hurl toward the ground after Caul had shot her. Perhaps it was the fumes of the botanicals?

Miss Avocet reached into her pocket and revealed a pair of leather gloves. She slid her hands into them. Bravely, she took hold of the vines and spread them apart, revealing a narrow passage through the wall. I found myself staring into a black pit. It was like one of those pitch-black hallways you went through in your local haunted house for Halloween spooks.

"Well?" she asked me. "Are you going to go in?"

Gulping, I pulled my dolly tight to my side.

"It's all right," Miss Avocet cooed. "It appears more unnerving than it actually is. Just hold your breath and trudge on through."

I gulped again, then, took my first step into the narrow passage.

The walls were so narrow I had to turn sideways just to fit. Luckily my luggage was just compact enough to fit behind me. I stopped a few feet in and looked behind me. Miss Avocet entered the tight space and allowed the vines to swing shut behind her. She came up behind me and gently nudged me.

"Just keep going- we're almost there."

Not willing to cross the orders of my new ymbryne, I swallowed and just kept trucking forward. The walls seemed to close around me and I began to feel like I was going to be suffocated when the sound of my feet on stone ground, turned into a light crunching. My eyes were closed and I peeled one open.

We had stepped into a bright daylight. The crunching beneath my feet was a gravel driveway, that led to two immense oak doors of a house so grand I thought I was standing before Versailles. My jaw dropped. The house itself looked to be about four stories high. Lush green yard surrounded it on three sides. In a way it was very similar to Miss Peregrine's house, only much much bigger.

"Home sweet home," Miss Avocet chirped. She patted me on the back then headed toward the front doors.

There were no peculiar begins anywhere on the exterior of the house. In fact, there were no live beings anywhere. I heard birds chirping all around. The aroma of flowers and freshly mowed grass.

I followed Miss Avocet to the front doors and she whipped them open.

"Toddy!" she called aloud inside the doors. "Toddy, I'm home!"

I stepped into a room of wooden furnishings and glossy, tiled floors. A set of Victorian drawing room furniture sat before a fireplace that was carved of cherry oak. Interesting thing about it was that the top of the mantle was carved to look like a great bird- I couldn't make out an exact species. The energy of the room was calm.

"Toddy!" called Miss Avocet in a ridiculous tone.

"Yes! Coming, Mistress!" came an answer somewhere on the first floor.

I went to Miss Avocet's side to take notice of without a doubt the strangest thing I had ever seen up to that point.

A beast that resembled a grizzly bear walking on two legs came trotting into the room. It was extremely bear-like from the shape of its head and face, down to it's big, furry paws. The bear stood, I'd say, a whopping ten feet tall. The whole image of the bear was thrown off-whack y the fact that it was wearing a tuxedo and had a monocle over its right eye.

"Ah, Toddy, there you are!" Miss Avocet exclaimed happily. She then gestured to me. "Toddy, this is Miss Stonington- she's the newest."

When the bear-beast advanced on me I wanted to run and hide somewhere. I was plenty used to children who could throw fireballs at people, and a woman who could turn into a falcon, but talking animals was something I had never been introduced to. Although the bear seemed domesticated enough, the idea of it's existence struck me as beyond peculiar.

Toddy approached me, and offered me a paw. He was so tall that his paw was just above my head. Recalling the manners Miss Peregrine was so proud of me for, I gently reached up and shook the bear's paw.

"How do you do?" Toddy asked in a thick, posh accent.

"I'm rather well, thank you," I replied as stably as I could manage.

"Toddy, dear, it has been a long journey for us and we are both drained. Would you mind showing Miss Stonington her quarters while I go and see to the status of supper?"

The bear nodded. The massive animal then bent forward, scooped up my luggage off the dolly, and flung it up onto his shoulder.

"Welcome to my home, Miss Stonington," Miss Avocet practically cheered at me. "Please, I bid you, make yourself comfortable. Toddy will show you to your room. Dinner is in exactly one hour." With that she paraded off through a door to the right of me.

Toddy the bear just looked down at me.

"Right this way, Miss," he said, heading down a hallway to my left.


	9. Classmates

Miss Avocet's mansion was four stories high. As I followed Toddy he explained the odd scheme of rooming. There were four hallways on each floor. Each hallway was painted a different color for the sake of organization and coordination. For instance, my room was the third floor, orange hallway, door 7. Although, the orange in my hallway was more a peachy salmon than an actual orange.

Behind door 7 I found myself entering a decent sized sitting room. A fireplace was straight ahead on the main wall. On each side of the mantle was a door, the right to the bedroom, the left to the washroom, as Toddy explained to me.

"Dinner is at precisely five p.m. every evening," Toddy said. "And, do watch your timing, Mistress dislikes the tardy." Then he stalked from the room, ducking so as to not hit his head on the doorframe.

The small clock on top of the fireplace read five minutes after four p.m., so I set to work immediately unpacking my things. Much like my quarters back at Miss Peregrine's I had a four-poster bed. A large wardrobe perched to the right side of the bed. There was no balcony like back at Miss Peregrine's, but a bay window with a window seat was decent compensation. The room had a nice comfy feel to it.

I started with picking out my boots and placing them on the small shelf that ran across the bottom of the wardrobe. I only owned three pairs of boots, but there would come appropriate times for each certain pair, I was sure. Next came my clothes. I carefully examined each article of clothing as I pulled them from my trunk. Making a good first impression to the other wards in my class meant a lot to me, and I wanted my first dinner outfit to be unexpected yet classy. I slid my hand into my trunk and my fingertips touched the smooth material of the gown Miss Peregrine had given me the summer previous as a welcome gift. Smiling, I slid it out and held it out in front of me.

The memory of when she had given it to me came to mind and I couldn't help but smile. It had been a grand day and one I would surely remember always.

I slid out of my sundress and into the gown. I buttoned the button at my throat and smoothed the skirt with my palms. I chose the boots from the Victorian Trading Company. For my hair I chose a neat chignon with the bottom section of my hair flowing loose at my shoulders. I had just finished sliding the last hairpin into place when there was a rap at my door.

"Enter," I called out.

The door opened and the click-clack of womanly heels crossed the sitting room floor.

"Miss Stonington," sang the voice of Miss Avocet. She was on the other side of my closed bedroom door. "Are you decent?"

"Yes, Ma'am," I replied.

The bedroom door opened and Miss Avocet stepped in. She was wearing a clean gray suit jacket with a matching skirt. Her silvering hair was fastened up in its usual updo. I turned to face her as she stopped.

She looked me head-to-toe. "My, my," she commented. "You doll-up nicely." She approached me and ran a finger over one of the buttons on the torso of my gown. "If I knew better, I'd say this was one of Alma's old gowns."

I giggled. "That's because it is," I replied.

A look of surprise spread across her face.

"She gifted it to me last summer," I said proudly. "She said that she's too tall for it."

Miss Avocet pursed her lips curiously. "Yes, she was one of my tallest students back in those days," she remembered. She sighed and then turned her attention to the clock hanging above my bed. "Is it that time already? Come, Miss Stonington, dinner will be served in the time hence. The other girls will be very pleased to meet you."

She then beckoned me to follow her, which I did obediently. We walked abreast down the main staircase to find Toddy standing straight-backed at the bottom of the lowest flight. He appeared to be on some sort of guard duty. It was entertaining to me, to have a talking bear as a butler and who also served as some sort of guard dog. Toddy was a big bear and his personality seemed gentle, but if I had to put money on it, I'd say he could royally tear the life out of someone who meant any of us in the house harm.

Miss Avocet trotted across the stair lobby, underneath an arch that opened into a small hallway with floor-length windows. Two heavy double doors resided at the end, and Miss Avocet pushed through them toughly, me close at her heels. The doors concealed the dinning hall. A long dinning table stretched across the middle of the grand room. Candelabras burned brightly lining the center of the table. Amongst the menagerie of table settings, large china plates and polished silverware sat five other young ladies. All their eyes fell over me and my stomach knotted immediately. As they stared the energy that built up inside me felt like I was a disliked headliner stepping out onto the stage of a horrible circus-show.

"Ladies," cooed Miss Avocet. "This is Miss Stonington. She has come all the way from Wales to join us this year. I expect you all to get on well." She toddled her way to the head of the table, and patted an empty table setting beside her. "Please sit, Miss Stonington and allow the ladies to introduce themselves."

All five pairs of eyes followed me as I rounded the table and silently took my seat.

"Miss Crane, why don't you begin?" Miss Avocet said.

A slender blonde girl, about thirteen if I had to guess, stiffened her posture in her seat. From what little I could see that the table didn't cover, her figure was squeezed into a pale pink gown that had a corset top. She had a noticeable baby face and her eyes were so blue it was striking.

The girl cleared her throat. "Good evening, Miss Stonington," she said in a thick British accent. "I am Annabelle Crane."

 _She's a crane_ , I thought to myself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Crane," I said with a small smile.

Miss Avocet bowed her head in excellence at Annabelle Crane, and then gestured to a young woman who sat adjacent from Annabelle. The young woman's hair was mouse-brown and was so short that the ends touched the bottom of her ears. A white bow was fastened at the crown of her head. She smiled hugely.

"Hello," she said sweetly. She was also very British. "I am Miss Magpie, but you may call me 'Mary' if you'd please." The energy she emitted was very happy yet calm. She seemed a stable, well-mannered young lady.

Next came a tan-skinned young woman with dark brown hair. " _Hola_ ," she said in a Mexican accent, which I found to be extravagant, may I add. I had never met a Mexican woman with such a strong accent before and it excited me. "I am Floretta but Miss Avocet calls me Miss Jacana."

Beside Floretta Jacana was a tall, thin woman with dark eyes and dyed auburn hair. Had her pale roots not been showing I could have easily mistaken her auburn for her natural. Her hair was also very big and bushy with a nice natural wave to it.

"Gretta Mocking," she said. She spoke in an accent that I immediately recognized as someone from Boston.

"Excuse me, but, 'mocking?'" I asked as sweet as I could.

"Yeah," she replied. "It's easier than saying 'Miss Mockingbird.'"

I nodded.

The last young woman was a plus sized-woman, I would guess about fifty pounds heavier than myself. She had flawless tan skin and raven hair. Her brown eyes were doe-shaped and her nose had a squarish shape to it. Native American, perhaps? She may have been plus-sized, but she was beautiful.

"My parents named me Lovely Dove," she said after Miss Avocet asked her to share her name with me. "It's cordially 'Miss Dove.'"

"Lovely Dove?" That's a gallant name!" I said excitedly. I hoped my first impression was going well.

She beamed. "Thank you. I've always been fond of it myself."

From the head of the table Miss Avocet cleared her throat. "Now that we've all be acquainted, let us take our meal."

Two goofy-looking kitchen maids strode into the dinning hall carrying platters of various foods. Once placed properly in the middle of the table, the menagerie of edibles was vast and very odd. Off-the-bat I saw mashed potatoes and corn, but there was also a chicken, a platter of beef, a duck, and a turkey. The measurable quantity of food was enormous and I was shocked to see so much of it just to feed the six of us.

Just like at Miss Peregrine's, Miss Avocet permitted us to talk as we ate.

"Does it occur to anyone else that we could be eating an ymbryne right now?" Gretta chided in an enthused tone as she stuck her fork into a slab of turkey.

Horrified, all the other ladies turned their attention to her. The idea of eating someone like Miss Peregrine in her bird form twisted my stomach and a wave of worry washed over me.

Unexpectedly, Miss Avocet giggled. "Nonsense, Miss Mocking. I would never permit the harm and consumption of an ymbryne sister."

We all just looked at each other for a moment in silence, then the taps of forks and the scraping of knives on plates once again filled the room. The other ladies would take quick glances at me while I ate. I knew they were trying to figure me out but it didn't bother me at all.

"What matter of bird is a 'Stonington'?" Annabelle Crane asked after a few minutes.

Miss Avocet had forgotten to tell them my ymbryne species. It was no big deal.

"I'm not so certain of that," I said oddly. "But in this world I am to be known as 'Miss Raven'," I said.

"A raven?!" chirped Mary Magpie happily. "How wonderful! Ravens are very intelligent birds."

"Yes, but as ymbrynes, we are _all_ intelligent birds," said Miss Floretta Jacana.

"Quite right, Miss Jacana," praised Miss Avocet.

The majority of the meal was spent eating and listening to Lovely Dove tell her tale of her name. Her parents were peculiar Native Americans and were very spiritual. Her parents never expected her to be peculiar when she was born, until one day, she morphed into a stunning mourning dove, and they had decided that their little ymbryne needed a strong name. Her ymbrynehood was seen as direct blessing from the Great Spirit. Apparently they had chosen a former name for her, but once her dove was discovered, they changed it to Lovely Dove, and Lovely Dove she was to stay.

It was a beautiful story and the way Lovely Dove spoke about her family made my heart miss my own family back in New York, if only for a moment. I wonder how they'd take it if they knew I sitting in a mansion in Blackpool with a handful of women who could turn into birds, though it is truly where I belonged.

Then I thought of Emma for some reason. Which led to me think of Olive, Bronwyn and Fiona and the rest of the children. Miss Peregrine found her way into my mind, too.

"So, Miss Raven," said Annabelle Crane, pulling me from my reverie, "are you directly from Wales or did you move there as a child?"

Inside I felt like laughing. I smiled. "I'm actually not from Wales at all," I explained. "I was there visiting my ymbryne when Miss Avocet discovered that I belonged her amongst you ladies."

At the mention of my ymbryne, all the girls fell silent and gave me blank stares again. Had I said something wrong?

"You have an ymbryne?" asked Lovely Dove.

"Yes," I replied smoothly.

Still silence lingered.

"I'm sorry, but, did I say something to offend you, ladies?" I asked when I couldn't take the blank stares anymore.

Finally Mary Magpie cleared her throat. "No, not at all," she assured me lightly. "It's just none of the rest of us have ever had a ymbryne except for Miss Avocet."

The world around me feel silent and the energy in the room sank into something low. These girls had no idea what it was like to live in a loop with an advanced ymbryne? How sad I felt for them.

"Ladies," said Miss Avocet slowly. "Just because Miss Raven was fortunate enough to experience another ymbryne's loop first-handedly, does not make her any different from the rest of you. There is nothing to get unbuckled about."

Miss Avocet's reassurance didn't seem to work very well. Instead, she opened the floor for the girls to ask me questions about my experience living in a loop.

"What's your ymbryne's name?" Mary Magpie asked curiously. Her hazel eyes burned with a bright curiosity.

"Miss Peregrine," I said. "She's a Peregrine falcon."

Smiles appeared all around the table.

"What's she like?" Floretta asked.

"Well," I began. Miss Peregrine was hands-down the most amazing woman I had ever met. She was my favorite person to be in the presence of and I idolized her. I could drag on for hours about how she impacted my life- and brag about her, too- but bragging about something only I had was not a very nice thing. I chose my words carefully. "Miss Peregrine- like all ymbrynes- is a wonderful being. She's kind and well-mannered and her heart is as big as the open sky." I grabbed my glass of water and fondled it. "Plus, she can make a mean turkey," I added.

The girls all giggled.

Pleased that we seemed to be getting along decent, Miss Avocet smiled from her end of the table. By this time dinner consumption had been long over and I'm sure the others were as tired as I was growing. Miss Avocet stood from her seat. "Ladies, this has been a wonderful meal, but I am afraid the time for us to retire is almost upon us. Breakfast is served between the hours of seven and eight a.m. I expect you all to meet me in the classroom at nine a.m. to receive your schedules."

She then dismissed us and we all middled from the dinning hall toward the staircase.

I placed my foot on the bottom step when Mary Magpie came up to me.

"Hey, sorry about that back there. None of us were lucky enough to be chosen for loops, you know?"

I nodded slowly. "I understand. And I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings."

She shook her head. "It's all right. I guess we didn't see you coming in so strong. In all honesty, I'm glad you're here. The other girl's aren't very fond of me. I think they just put up with me because they know they have to. I feel like you're different from them."

Mary was pretty much going through what I went through in high school. I guaranteed that going from the normal world to peculiardom was rather a big change for her. I had no reason to dislike her.

"I understand. I was so different from the other students in my high school. It made me an easy target. But ymbrynehood has changed me. Everything will be fine as the year progresses," I said. Then Annabelle Crane walked past up, climbed the staircase to the second floor, stopped and gave us the nastiest look ever. "What's the issue with her?" I asked Mary.

"Annabelle thinks she owns the world because her family is filthy rich. Her father owns a bank in London. Believe it or not, ymbrynes aren't really suppose to start academy until they reach sixteen. Annabelle is only thirteen. They say that her father paid Miss Avocet a hefty amount to take her in three years early."

"She's a damn _gringa_ ," rang out the voice of Floretta. She came striding up to us with a sassy sway to her gait. Her use of derogatory terms awed me. It then occurred to me that all the girls acted completely carefree when Miss Avocet was not around. "Don't trust her as far as you can spit," she warned me.

"What floors are you two staying on?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Fourth," said Floretta. "Yellow walls, third door."

"Second, first door, blue walls," Mary said.

"I'm third floor, orange halls, seventh door."


	10. Academy First Day

I had a hard time sleeping. The bed I was provided with was comfy enough but there was a certain energy about Miss Avocet's that I just couldn't get used to. I had settled quickly in Miss Peregrine's but finding that same level of comfort somewhere else I bet was going to be impossible. Perhaps it was that I didn't want to feel that comfortable anywhere else.

The majority of the night I tossed and turned, and when sleep finally took me over, it was about four hours before wake-up time. Far as I knew I didn't dream, either.

When the clock above the fireplace in my sitting room chimed at six a.m., I sat up in bed and rubbed my tired eyes. It was much too early for me to even think of how tired my body possibly was, so I slid from the warmth of my bed and I exited the bedroom, crossed the sitting room and entered the washroom.

No matter what time period this loop was created, it had running water and electricity. But the mansion itself had architecture that, if I had to guess, was from the seventeenth century. It was a large, cobblestone structure with arched doorways and stone staircases. The place was something King Henry the eighth may have resided in at one point in time. Amazing thing about it was that one could not tell its authenticity by the internal decor. The washroom had a gigantic claw-foot bathtub, a porcelain toilet and a marbled-top bathroom sink. There was a full-length mirror on the backside of the door. What got me was that there was a light switch and there also was a candelabra placed on the back of the toilet, equipped with unused candles. There was a small window beside the bathtub.

I gazed out the window at the dark world, decided I wasn't in the mood for bright lighting, so I searched the drawers in the washroom until I located a book of matches. I lit the candles and the firelight danced to life and cast shadows on the walls. Although I was the only student living on the third floor, I still closed the washroom door and locked it tightly. Years of trying to avoid my big sister, Claire, from looking at me naked had gotten me into the habit of always locking the bathroom door.

Once the tub was steaming, I slid from my nightgown and submerged myself. Hot baths always helped me fight the early-morning grogginess.

I finished readying by quarter to seven and I made my way down the quiet halls to the dinning hall on the first floor. I was expecting everyone else to be lively and seated at the table, but only Mary Magpie was lounging at the table.

I slid into the chair in front of her and yawned.

"Well, good morning, sleepy head," she teased me.

"Good morning," I said.

"I take it you're not required to awake at a certain time in your ymbryne's loop?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Miss Peregrine serves breakfast between seven and nine. We don't have to actually wake up for breakfast if we don't desire to. There have been a few mornings I've slept in then made myself finger sandwiches while the children had class," I explained, remembering all the cups of tea and finger sandwiches I had eaten between the hours of ten and eleven a.m.

"She doesn't seem very strict at all, your ymbryne," Mary suggested.

I shook my head. "Not particularly. All she asks is that we stay clean and look out for each other."

The dinning room doors opened then and Toddy strode in. He was carrying an armful of addressed envelopes. He also had something tucked under his arm but I couldn't make it out.

"Mail time, ladies," he said cheerfully.

Mail? Really!?

We both watched excitedly as he placed the envelopes on the table surface and plucked a pale pink one from the pile. "This one is for you, Miss Magpie," he said as he handed it to her.

Mary beamed, took the envelope and began to tear it open with gusto.

Toddy then removed a small, rectangular box from under his arm. He held it up to his head, and adjusted his monocle with his claws.

"Ah, Miss Stonington, this one is for you."

Mary halted her tearing to beam at me. I accepted the slender box from Toddy. The only one who'd send me something was Miss Peregrine or one of the children. I came to the conclusion it was Miss Peregrine by the words 'Miss Stonington' scrawled on the front in fountain pen. My stomach filled with butterflies as I gingerly peeled back the packaging. Inside my fingers touched something cool. I smiled to myself as I slid it free of the packaging.

What I had before me was a beautiful black-and-white photograph of Miss Peregrine and the children posed in front of the house. Joy filled me immediately and I was sure a tear escaped my eye. The photo was framed in an elegant frame composed of a shiny silver, etched with little designs. I slowly turned it over to see the words 'We are always with you' penned neatly on the back in Miss Peregrine's handwriting.

"What did you get, Minnette?" Mary asked sweetly.

Smiling, I held the picture up proudly for her to see.

Her hazel eyes seemed to dance over the portrait. "Is this your loop family?" she asked.

I nodded.

She held a finger up to Miss Peregrine. "And that's your ymbryne?" she asked.

"Indeed, that is her. That's Miss Peregrine."

Eyeing the photograph closely, Mary nodded in approval. "Your ymbryne is beautiful," she observed. "And the children all look so happy to be around her."

Mary had spoken a true fact, all of us loved Miss Peregrine and the loop with all our hearts. Just to think that I wouldn't be here had it not been for Miss Peregrine. "Our loop is the most wonderful place in all time," I gushed. "I miss them all so much."

"You'll get to see them at Christmas," she informed me. She now had a letter open and she was reading over it.

I raised my brows. "Christmas?"

Mary nodded. "Yes. We are rewarded a two-week vacation from academy for Christmas. We are allowed to go home if we want."

To think that I had two different places I could go for Christmas was overwhelming. I could very easily return to Cairnholm, but I felt I owed my parents a visit, too. I supposed I could go to America for one week, and Cairnholm the other. I wasn't sure, but I was glad I had time to think it over.

"Is there a phone in your loop?" Mary asked.

"Yes."

"We are allowed to accept calls from our families on Saturdays."

I felt utterly confused. If our loop was only a day long, how was Miss Avocet able to keep track of the day of the week- and when Christmas was?

"Aren't loops only twenty-four hours?" I asked curiously.

Sighing, Mary folded her letter and pocketed it into the pale blue blouse she was wearing. "Loops are usually twenty-four hour intervals, yes. But, this one is special. I learned this from Miss Avocet herself, and I'm not suppose to tell anyone, but I feel I can trust you." She then stiffened her posture and cleared her throat. "A single ymbryne can only successfully upkeep a loop that's up to twenty-four hours. However, when it was established that ymbrynes were to attend academy before going out into the world and mothering peculiar children, the members of the ymbryne council band together to create this loop. Our loop is, in fact, a seven-day interval- a whole week, if you will. With the combined power of all the council members, they were able to preserve an entire week of time. Although, none of us are quite sure when this loop was created and Miss Avocet won't tell anyone."

That was amazing! But it seemed a little brash to assume that an ymbryne could preserve only a day's worth of time. Miss Peregrine was a determined woman, and I guaranteed she could upkeep as much time as she wished. Perhaps there are rules to follow?

Mary put her elbows on the table and rested her hands on the sides of her neck. She sighed. "There's a lot to learn about being an ymbryne. Sometimes I wonder if any of us will make it out there." She was gazing out the nearest window. Outside the sun was beginning to rise and I could make shapes out of things in the garden amongst the dawn darkness.

I was then taken aback to when I helped the children defeat some hollows to save Miss Peregrine. I guess every good thing in existence had to have its downs. Peculiardom was Eden and the wights and hollows were hell. But this Eden, in my eyes, was worth fighting for.

Soon I was sitting about all five other girls as they bustled on about their letters and as we ate the delicious casserole that was served to us. Just a short while after breakfast, I found myself walking beside Mary toward the classroom. The entire time I held the photograph to my chest. It gave me such a loved feeling that I would hate to have to put it down.

Miss Avocet was sitting at a big oak desk in front of a chalkboard that stretched the length of the room. It was very similar to the classroom in Miss Peregrine's house. She ushered us all into desks- unlike highs school, in ymbryne academy we didn't have assigned seating. I sat between Mary Magpie and Gretta Mocking.

"Welcome to Ymbryne Academy, ladies!" Miss Avocet said joyfully. "I see you all were prompt this morning. I have your schedule all set. Considering that our class is so small this year, you all have the same exact schedule." She then pranced about the room handing out papers with typed words on them.

Ymbryne Academy- First Quarter

Breakfast: 7:00-8:00

History of Peculiardom: 9:00-10:00

Time Manipulation: 10:00- 12:00

Midday Meal: 12:00- 1:00

Birding: 1:00- 3:00

Social Hour 3:00- 5:00

Dinner 5:00- 7:00

Lights out by 10:00 PM.

Before anyone had time to say anything, Miss Avocet went to her desk and cleared her throat.

"Our year is split into two quarters. The first quarter begins today- obviously- and shall end around Christmastime. For those of you who don't already know, you will be granted a two-week vacation during which you may return home if you do so please to celebrate the holiday with your families."

Behind me, Lovely Dove's face lit up and she muttered something under her breath. Mary and I already knew this so we just smiled at Miss Avocet.

"Our second quarter will begin upon your return and shall end in mid-May. Now, any questions?"

Annabelle Crane raised her hand from her desk in the leftmost corner.

"Yes, Miss Crane?"

"Miss Avocet, I find myself confused. How is it that you keep track of the time line in the Normal World?" she asked, curiously.

Miss Avocet pursed her lips. "That, my dear Miss Crane, is for me to know, and for you ladies to never find out. It is much better to enjoy this loop than question the reason for it's existence." Miss Avocet smiled then, and winked at Mary, who smiled and winked back at her. "Now, then, the History of Peculiardom. Can anyone tell me the name of the very first ymbryne?"

Mary raised her hand and answered, but for some reason beyond my knowledge, I didn't catch her answer. My mind was seeping back to Cairnholm. It was only mid-June and it was months before I would be able to see Miss Peregrine and the children again. I highly doubted they were allowed to visit, either. It would be hard for me to be away from the loop for such a long time. I had started to worry about my absence the very instant I stepped foot on the ship to cross to England. Caul and his band of wights and hollows were still out there. They would come looking for Miss Peregrine. Caul already knew where our house was, and it bothered me that he could just fight his way in and take her if he so pleased, and I was so far away that it'd take me hours to get there, even if I did fly on my own wings.

The mere hour History of Peculiardom class took place my imagination was twisting and turning around schemes and ideas of how I could get back to Cairnholm if I was needed. Surely Miss Avocet would allow me to flee if I had to. I was a ymbryne and I was meant to help other ymbrynes. In the midst of our loop getting attacked, there would be nothing anyone could do to stop me from leaving to defend the homestead.

I was so lost in my reverie, that the next thing I heard come out of Miss Avocet's mouth was: "All right, ladies, if you'd be so kind as to move to the greenhouse we will begin our Time Manipulation lesson shortly."

For some reason, Mary and I lingered at our desks while the other four girls left the classroom. In truth, I dearly hoped Miss Avocet hadn't noticed my haziness.

How wrong I was.

She came striding up to me.

"Are you all right, Miss Stonington?" she asked, a sense of wonder in her voice.

"Yes, Miss Avocet, I'm all right," I replied. Something told me she didn't belive me.

"You miss your loop family, don't you?" she asked quietly.

That was it. I couldn't hide it. The hour I spent in worry had softened me. "I do," I replied.

Miss Avocet eyed Mary, then turned her gaze back to me. "If you would like to come to my office during social hour, I would be happy to council you with anything you may need. Come on, dear, let's go dive into the world of Time Manipulation." She patted me on the shoulder.

I scooped up my photograph and Mary and I exited the room together.

"You okay?" Mary asked me. If only she knew.

"Yeah. It's just that my loop family and I experienced tragedy last summer and I've not quite gotten over it. I have to keep telling myself that Miss Peregrine held the loop down perfectly well before I came along and that she can do it just as well knowing I'm here in Blackpool. I feel like I need to be there to help mind the children." I stopped myself. It was only the first day of academy and there were many many more ahead to live through before Christmas vacation. Mary led me down a hallway underneath the main staircase that veered off to the left into a humongous greenhouse that was built right into the structure of the mansion. "Why is Time Manipulation in the greenhouse?"

Mary giggled. "You'll see."

But I didn't see. All Miss Avocet talked of was the importance of Time Manipulation and how crucial it was to create "perfect" loops to house peculiar children in. Before the end of the class she mentioned that we would begin actually practicing the following Monday- this very day was Friday. I was relieved to get a small taste of our classes and then have a weekend to settle in.

Before midday meal, I ran to my room and placed the photograph on my nightstand. I was sure everyone had noticed me carrying it around all morning but no one spoke a word. I ate midday meal next to Mary and we chatted and around once o'clock she led me to the courtyard.

We all gathered on the lush green lawn and waited patiently for Miss Avocet. A few muffled conversations broke out and we all just stood around chatting for a short while until-

"Kleeeeeeekkkk!"

A small, but very loud bird came swooshing in, sounding its call. It was black-and-white in color with a very long, skinny beak.

It was Miss Avocet!

She circled around us a few times, causing the other girls to giggle.

"Kleek! Kleek! Kleek!"

I wasn't sure if any of the other girls knew how to speak ymbryne.

" _Raise your hand if you can understand me?"_ the Avocet asked aloud. I waited patiently for a few moments, then, slowly raised my palm. I looked around to discover that I was the only one with my hand raised and I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment. _"Only Miss Stonington, eh? Looks like you're a step ahead of the others, Miss Stonington."_

Miss Avocet then fluttered her wings to slow her speed. She ducked behind a thick bush nearby and, after a small coughing spell, she stepped out, fully clothed, in her human form.

Gasps were heard from all the other ladies.

I took pride in the fact that I was the only one in the group who could speak ymbryne, but it wasn't something I would flaunt. I would keep myself as level-headed as possible during academy.

"Welcome to Birding 101, ladies," announced Miss Avocet. "I must say it's a lovely day for a fly. Do tell me, how many have you can assume your alternate forms by will, rather than surprise?" she asked, clasping her hands together.

Mary and I glanced at each other, and we both shot out hands up. At least I wasn't alone on this one.

"My, my, my, what an ignorant group this year. No matter! Soon you all will be able to change as quickly as I drop a towel and before it hits the floor."

I came to find that Birding class was my favorite so far. On many occasions I had turned into my raven and went flying for practice purposes. Mary seemed well-educated on the whole of the academy process and as we listened to Miss Avocet discuss the vitality of remaining hidden from normals, I asked Mary about her knowledge.

"My parents sent me here for about a month at the end of the last quarter- or, well, what was suppose to be the last quarter. Circumstances weren't good and Miss Avocet agreed to take me in early."

"You mean there was no last quarter?" I whispered to her, to avoid interrupting Miss Avocet. She seemed to be talking mostly at the other four girls than us, anyway.

Mary shook her head and what little hair she had shook with it. "No. This is the first ymbryne class Miss Avocet has had in a couple decades. Ymbrynes just aren't being bred anymore, I'm afraid. In fact, Miss Avocet told me once that she fears the Ymbryne species might decline within the next century or so."

I gasped. No more ymbrynes to look after the peculiar children?! It was becoming clearer that Mary was Miss Avocet's pet. Although, she didn't know how to speak ymbryne yet, so she must not have gotten too much personal time with Miss Avocet.

I leaned in closer to her. "And the rise of wights and hollows can't be helping the ymbryne population, either."

She shook her head again. "Not at all. Nasty things," she muttered. "I'm glad I've never come in contact with any."

 _But I have_ , I thought, my mind going back to Cairnholm again.


	11. Past of the Peregrine

The very instant Birding 101 was dismissed, after the girls began to wander off for social hour, Miss Avocet came right up to me. Earlier that morning she had noticed my sting for the absence of my loop and had summoned me to her office during social hour. She hadn't given me enough time to even collect myself before she came striding right up.

"My office, Miss Stonington," she cooed.

Miss Avocet's office was concealed behind double doors beneath the main staircase. The room was a mixture of characteristics from various time periods. The big oak desk was a spitting image of the desk in the classroom. There was a computer propped on it. A towering bookcase stretched up the wall behind the desk, its shelves a rainbow of different bindings. Two Tudor-style chairs sat in front of the desk and I sat in one. True to Mary's word, on the corner of Miss Avocet's desk was a land line telephone.

When I was settled in, Miss Avocet leaned forward in her office chair.

"Tell me, Miss Stonington," she said, "what do think of this place?"

I scanned the office carefully, observing every detail and trying to interpret the different time periods conveyed in the structure of the office and all of its items. "I don't recall ever being in a home so grand."

Miss Avocet's eyes ran over my face a few times. "This house used to belong to the Duke of Suffolk during the reign of Henry the Eighth. Not much has changed since the council purchased it privately from Her Majesty- just a couple of small additions."

She had answered every question I had about the house and it's origin, but I wasn't too interested in talking about the house. I was missing Miss Peregrine and the children.

"I bet it's not as comfortable as your home in Wales, is it?" she asked me slowly.

Not able to help myself at all, I hung my head. Miss Peregrine had wanted me to be strong, and I thought I had been holding up well, but being so far away from the loop was killing me inside. Not to mention that I wouldn't be able to get there in time if wights attacked the house.

Miss Avocet's expression softened and the corners of her mouth shot upward in a very slight smile. "It's Alma, isn't it? You can't help but be concerned for her welfare."

My mentor's ymbryne senses must have been picking up on my sinking vibes. If she was anything like Miss Peregrine she'd do anything to cheer up a low ward. Some day there would be down children who'd need me to be their shoulder to cry on, but right now, I needed to be reminded that my separation from the loop was only temporary.

"I place no blame on you, Miss Stonington," said Miss Avocet.

She then spun in her chair, and ran a finger over the bindings of a row of books. She pondered for a minute, then plucked a hefty black book from the row. She flopped it down on her desk and began to scramble through the pages. When the desired page was found, she spun the book around so I could view it.

Why, there were two photographs.

The photograph on the right was of a young, black-haired woman sitting cross-legged in a chair. The picture was taken while the woman was mid-laughter. What caught me was that she had an avocet perched on two of her fingers. Instantly I knew who it was.

"That's Miss Peregrine."

Miss Avocet nodded.

I then moved to the next picture. It was of a middle-aged woman with light hair. She had a calm expression on her face, a gallant peregrine falcon perched on her arm.

"And that's you," I pointed out.

She then closed the book and laid her palms on its cover. "You see, Miss Stonington, I, too, have a soft spot for your ymbryne. I understand that being in my position and partaking in favoritism is rather brash, but Alma LeFay Peregrine has always been- and will always be- my most cherished student. Never so much has a sister ymbryne remind me so much of myself." She slowly got to her feet and slid the book back into its place. "If It's Caul Bentham you're concerned about, belive me, you have every right to be."

Caul's name sent chills up my spine and I shivered. The very man who had shot my ymbryne down without even a second thought about it. I had never despised someone as much as I despised Caul Bentham. If Miss Avocet knew about Caul and his evil ways, I would sit and listen to what she had to say.

"In case you weren't aware, Caul Bentham was sent here alongside Alma to reside whilst she carried on her education. He is a case most unusual. When Caul was born it became evident that he possessed one of the two main traits of an ymbryne- like his sister, he could assume the form of a peregrine falcon. When Alma was born and future ymbrynism was a fact of her life, the council saw to it that Caul be observed. They thought that a possible male strain of ymbrynes could be discovered from studying Caul."

I found Miss Peregrine and Caul's past to be interesting, so I relaxed in my seat. The information Miss Avocet was providing me with could be vital to me one day. Figuring Miss Avocet was finding my silence odd, I cleared my throat. "I haven't liked Caul Bentham since the day I met him."

"He's rotten. Always was and will always be. The council conducted thorough observations on Caul, with hopes of changing the ymbryne species. When it became clear that the idea of males being born ymbrynes was impossible, naturally, Caul became very jealous of Alma. He found joy in tormenting poor Alma in any way he could. One day while Alma was on the terrace practicing her flight, Caul captured her in a fishing net. He then presumed to pluck out the majority of poor Alma's feathers. It was only then that the council granted me permission to rid of him- and so I did."

A small rage began to burn in my core. How dare that bastard do such a horrid thing, and to his own sister! No wonder he could shoot her without so much as a hint of remorse. Some day in the late future, I would track down Caul Bentham and put his miserable life to an end. Only then could Miss Peregrine be truly safe. But for now, I was stuck here, in ymbryne academy. My growth into a fully-bloomed ymbryne would require hard work and concentration.

Miss Avocet reached across the desk, took hold of my hand and squeezed it. "I can assure you that the council will permit nothing to happen to Alma. However, if something were to happen that ended Alma's life- I don't know what I would do."

"Neither would I," I replied.

The energy in the room shifted and Miss Avocet quickly got to her feet. She bound to the office doors and she cracked them. Sticking her head out into the hall, she peered both ways, withdrew herself back into the office, then tightly locked the doors.

She returned to her seat.

"As I said before, favoritism is not something I care to condone in the open. However, in private, I am known to 'stretch' my own regulations for the proper reasons."

She pulled out a small notebook from her desk, along with a pair of spectacles. She placed the spectacles and began to scan the contents of the notebook. Unaware of what to say or do, I sat in silence, gripping the arms of my Tudor chair tightly. I focused on breathing deeply to calm the storm that had risen internally within me at the mention of Caul Bentham's horrid childhood tactics. If Miss Avocet was picking up on my energy, she had one hell of a hard time showing it.

She made an 'Aha!' noise and picked the phone off the receiver. Her slender fingers dialed a number, then found its way to the speaker button. The phone began to ring out loud.

"Do remain silent until I introduce you, hmm?" she asked me.

Introduce me? Who could we have been calling.

On the fifth ring, the other line clicked open.

"Hello?" said a very familiar voice.

MISS PEREGRINE!

Containing myself would be a difficult task. I dug my fingertips into the chair arms.

"Alma," Miss Avocet cooed loudly.

Miss Peregrine chuckled. "Esmeralda, how did I know that was you?"

Giving a sly look, Miss Avocet said: "Because you know practically everything." She was being extremely sarcastic, although she was indeed right, Miss Peregrine's intuition was phenomenal. She leaned back in her chair. "I am calling on behalf of your fledgling, Miss Stonington."

Miss Peregrine gasped. "Is she causing you grief?"

Miss Avocet pursed her lips and shook her head. "Nonsense, she is a model student! My reason for calling is that she has- in most confidentiality- informed me that she is experiencing rather a deep sting from the absence of your loop." Then she jabbed me with her pointer finger, and gestured to the phone, signaling me to talk.

"Miss Peregrine?" I asked aloud.

Another gasp. "My birds! Minnette! Hello, darling! How are you?"

"I'm decent, thank you. How are you, Miss P?" I was trying my hardest to keep my learned air about me, but it was hard considering everything inside me was screaming like an excited child.

Miss Avocet then jabbed me again. She cupped her lips and cooed very quietly so Miss Peregrine couldn't hear her.

 _"You are not to tell her anything I have told you,"_ she said in ymbryne.

I winked at her.

"We are all getting on well. Did you receive your package?" she asked.

I grinned. "I most certainly did. I thank you from the very bottom of my heart, Miss Peregrine, the photograph is beautiful." A mental image of the photo flashed into my mind. Like I never took my eyes off it.

"Thank Miss Bloom, it was her idea, after all," she replied smoothly. "She considers it essential that you have a piece of us while your there."

Emma was the second oldest of Miss Peregrine's wards, after me, of course. Her and I were often trusted to look after the little ones while Miss Peregrine accomplished chores, or even going into town for supplies. We had spent much time together and we made quite a team when it came to mothering over the others while Miss Peregrine was busy. Besides Helena back home, I would have to say that Emma Bloom was one of my dearest friends. It was highly like her to think so sweetly of me.

"You'll have to give her my thanks," I urged lightly.

"Consider it done," she said.

Miss Avocet opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by voices coming from Miss Peregrine's line. Miss Avocet and I glanced at one another curiously. I recognized the voices off the bat as Emma and Horace.

"Miss Peregrine?" Emma called. "The policeman is at the door. He's here about the pub."

"Drat!" Miss Peregrine hissed. "Is it _that_ time already?" I could just see her whipping out her pocket watch and staring at it. "Hold tight, ladies," she whispered. It then sounded like she covered the phone with her hand. "I'll be right there, Miss Bloom! I must snuff out my pipe!" The phone then made a bristling noise. "I'm dearly sorry but I must be going. I do not want the children knowing of this conversation- not yet, at least. I am aware that I am permitted to make phone calls to you on Saturdays- and that I shall promise to do."

"All right, Miss P," I said. "Perhaps you can avoid killing the pub owner today?" I taunted.

Miss Avocet's eyes widened horrendously. She must not have known about Miss Peregrine shooting the pub owner with her crossbow after he had presumed to try and strangle me.

Miss Peregrine laughed. "Unfortunately that is something I cannot promise. I must be going. Goodbye, Esmeralda, farewell my dear Miss Stonington. Ta-ta for now!"

The phone clicked.

Hanging the phone back up, Miss Avocet patted my hand. "Well?"

I smiled. "Thank you, Miss Avocet, I needed that."

"Indeed. Do not speak of this to the other wards, all right?"

With Miss Peregrine on my mind, I said: "Consider it done."


	12. Timepieces

**It was requested that I provide you with a list of Minnette's ymbryne classmates. Below I've posted their names, their Ymbryne name, their race and their bird species.**

 **So, we have:**

 **Mary: 'Miss Magpie". British. Magpie.**

 **Floretta: "Miss Jacana." Mexican. Northern Jacana.**

 **Gretta. "Miss Mocking." American. Mockingbird.**

 **Annabelle. "Miss Crane." British. Crane.**

 **Lovely. "Miss Dove." Native American. Mourning Dove.**

The phone conversation that took place between Miss Avocet, Miss Peregrine and I played over-and-over in my mind for the remainder of that Friday. Even during dinner it echoed through my mind. I could still hear it as I drifted to sleep.

My first Saturday was spent powing around the mansion with Mary. Come to find out that the mansion provided many different forms of entertainment. On the fourth floor was a massive library of both peculiar and normal world books, all of which we were allowed to borrow at any given time. There was a small theater on the first floor, where Miss Avocet showed vintage projector movies by request. A tennis court was on the right of the house. Concealed behind a wall of fifteen-foot-tall hedges was a swimming pool with a diving board.

Saturdays were the days we were permitted to receive phone calls from our families. I asked Miss Avocet to inform Miss Peregrine that a call that Saturday was unnecessary- we had spoken the previous evening.

Most of that Saturday Mary and I spent floating in the swimming pool on huge blocks of foam and having girlish conversations.

"Miss Avocet says that this year we are going to begin going out on outings," Mary said to me from her foam block. "In fact, she informed me this morning that we are taking one tomorrow."

An outing sounded good to distract my mind for a while. Throughout the day all the girls were summoned to Miss Avocet's office for their phone calls. Each ward was allowed an hour time limit to speak with their loved ones. When Mary was called I went to my room and slept a couple hours of the afternoon away.

Miss Avocet announced at dinner that night that we would be going on an outing the next morning. She requested that we be bathed and dressed to go by ten a.m. News of the outing excited the lot beyond belief. She explained very little yet the mood improved drastically.

As requested, I washed myself and put on a black blouse over a ruffled black skirt before the clock struck ten the next morning. The girls were gathered in the front lobby chatting away. Toddy stood guard at the door, ensuring that no one tried to leave early. I decided to bring along the small black messenger bag that I had to carry my wallet and stuff in. Luckily my father gave me a good chunk of money to bring to 'university' and had it exchanged into euros. By 'outing' I took it that Miss Avocet would be taking us outside of the loop.

When Miss Avocet came in I noticed right away that she was wearing a black trench coat. We must have been going somewhere decently chilly.

"Follow me, ladies, we will discuss when we reach our destination."

So out the mansion, down the graveled path, and through the tightly-squeezed hedges we went. Miss Avocet exited into the botanical garden and peeped around for onlookers. The garden was closed on Sundays, so there was not a soul in sight. She waved us on and we all took turns squeezing through the small space into the garden. Once all out, we followed Miss Avocet to a big iron gate, which she unlocked by sticking her hands through it to the lock on the opposite side, and dug into it with a small hairpin. The lock popped open and she wriggled it so it fell to the cobblestone.

As a group we quickly bounded from the garden, and Miss Avocet locked the gate back in place.

We had once again entered the normal world.

The sounds of cars, chattering people and light rain filled the air. My nostrils found the scent of wet pavement. Much to my surprise none of the girls were overly surprised about exiting the loop. They were probably used to it.

We made our way down the busy street and stopped in a small park. The normal world was such a dark contrast compared to any loop I had ever been in. The energy was depressing and I could slowly feel it dragging my mood down. I wondered what people thought of us as we toddled down the street. I imagined us looking somewhat like the girls from Madeline, minus the hats and matching blue dresses.

"Ladies," began Miss Avocet. "Welcome to our first normal-world outing. Today you have a quest to complete, if you will. Considering that Miss Stonington is the only one with loop experience, she is likely to know what I mean. As you all know, a loop is created through the manipulation of time used to preserve a twenty-four- hour period. Although the power to manipulate time lies within the ymbryne, a tool is required for the ymbryne to properly pinpoint the beginning and ending of the loop time period." She turned her back to us and faced down the street. Many little shops lined both sides of the cobblestone street, and by the looks of things, even for a Sunday, most of them were open for business. "I am going to gift you each twenty pounds. Use it to find yourself a time piece of your pleasing, and meet me back here in precisely two hours." She then gave each of us a bill of twenty pounds and wandered off.

I was standing next to Mary and Lovely Dove when Annabelle pushed between us. "Little does Miss Avocet know that my father has an endless line of credit. He gave me a credit card to use for whatever I desire. I plan on finding the biggest gold wristwatch I can find." She, too, wandered off.

Gretta and Floretta joined our little congregation.

"What does your ymbryne use to reset her loop, Minnette?" Gretta asked me.

Memories of all the times I had witnessed Miss Peregrine use her pocket watch flooded me. "She uses a pocket watch," I informed the other girls. "She keeps it on her person at all time."

"We've never witnessed the council reset our loop," Mary said. "I have a feeling they do it late at night when we're all asleep."

I knew so very little of the ymbryne council- Miss Peregrine didn't mention them much. The council seemed a lot like parliament, you hardly heard much of it, but you knew it was there. All the time I thought Peculiardom had no type of government there had been a council all along. It wasn't until Emma mentioned to me back in Cairnholm that the council was responsible for selecting which ymbryne to place the children under.

"Well, girls, we only have two hours, so if we all need to find a timepiece, I suggest we hustle," Gretta said.

I counted five little thrift shops on the main drag. My history of thrifting would come in handy during this outing, and I bet I could find a really good deal. I just had to figure out what manner of timepiece I wanted. A wristwatch? A pocketwatch? Maybe a small handclock like Miss Peregrine had. Whatever was meant to be mine would call out to me.

The first shop we entered had a middle-aged man siting at a glass counter. He was nose-deep into a newspaper. He said nothing when he saw us enter, just nodded in acknowledgment. He was probably unhappy that he got stuck working on a Sunday.

The shop was divided into four parts, apparel, household, toys and miscellaneous. I went straight for the clothes. Two hours was plenty of time to find a timepiece and perhaps find something new to wear. Mary and Lovely joined me at the clothing rack and soon they were holding up ugly clothes to one another and laughing. I laughed hysterically when Lovely held up a bright yellow jacket with green polka-dots on it.

Next came a huge purple sunhat that Mary placed on her head and puckered up her lips. She then began to prance around the racks making a clucking noise.

" _Esta loca!_ " Floretta cheered between laughs.

I countered the silliness by putting on a pair of sunglasses that were so big it was ridiculous. Next I found an old parasol and I opened it. There was music playing quietly in the shop and I began to stomp-out a funky dance to it while making cooing noises. My actions caused Floretta and and Lovely to burst out laughing. I then found a mink and began to rub it back-and-forth between my legs like an old drunken Hollywood movie star. Even the man minding the counter started to laugh.

Lovely and Floretta joined Mary with her chicken dance and I wandered over to a big glass case that had jewelery in it. There was a handful of wristwatches and a couple of pocket watches. One of the pocket watches was black, but for some reason, it didn't quite appeal to me. When the girls saw me browsing they gathered around me.

Lovely pointed at a rose gold wrist watch. "Look at that!" she said.

"I like the black pocket watch," Gretta said.

"I honestly hope we all end up with something different," I pointed out. "I would hate to feel like I was a copycat."

I liked the idea of a pocket watch, it was old fashioned. I watched as Gretta's eyes moved over the sleek surface of the black pocket watch with admiration. After a few minutes she turned to the man at the counter.

"Excuse me, sir," she said. "I'd like to buy this pocket watch."

We watched as the man pulled a pair of keys from under the desk. Whistling, he strode over, unlocked the case. Reaching in, he grabbed the pocket watch, and handed it to Gretta. Her eyes lit up and her fingers sailed around the smooth surface of the watch. She fondled it gently for a minute, then found the clasp button on the top. The watch popped open to reveal delicate, black numbers inside.

"I'll take it," Gretta said to the man, handing him her twenty. She collected her change then wrapped the chain to the pocket watch around her fist. She held it tightly and looked at Lovely. "Aren't you going to get that wristwatch, Lovely?" she asked her.

Lovely shook her head. "I want to see what else there is. I don't want to go and spend my money and then find something I like better and not have anything to buy it with."

"Good thinking," said Floretta.

The man said nothing and went back to the desk.

The group of us continued to the next shop, and to the next, and the next after that. By the time we reached the fifth and final shop, I was the only one without a timepiece. Gretta had her black pocket watch, Floretta found a small clock that was in the shape of a sombrero.

"It reminds me of my home in Mexico!" she claimed with such pride.

Lovely found a wristwatch that didn't have a band on it. She said she was a skilled weaver and would weave a band for it with a Navajo pattern on it.

Annabelle rejoined us after a while. She had a sparking brand new watch on her left wrist. She explained to us that there was a jewelery shop on the next street over and that her watch was six-hundred pounds. She waved it around like it was a penny-toy and she basically rubbed it in all our faces. She was honestly nothing but a spoiled brat.

Mary found herself a pocket watch much like Gretta's only it was gold and it had an eagle on it. "The eagle is fitting," she chimed.

I was starting to worry that I wouldn't find a timepiece that suited me, and all the others tried their best to help me find something I liked. Since I would be using said timepiece for all future time manipulation, I wanted it to be something I connected with.

The very last shop had a huge bin of watches of all sorts. Cheap ones you'd find in the Dollar Tree, old Rollex wrist watches, even just small clock faces. I spent the last forty-five minutes of our time digging through the bin but came to no avail. I was ready to give up when I noticed Mary over by the glass counter. She waved me over and pressed her pointer to the glass.

On a long, sterling silver necklace chain, was a small silver pocket watch. The outside surfaces were etched with designs. Two recognizable flowers were etched into the center of the designs. The watch itself was small enough to fit just into the palm of my hand. It was so shiny that when the light hit it it shone.

"Exquisite," I mumbled under my breath. I had to have it.

It was fifty pounds, so I added thirty from my wallet in with Miss Avocet's money. The woman working seemed happy to sell it to me. She grinned when she handed it to me from the case.

Immediately I clasped the chain around my neck. The length of the chain was long enough to where it hung just above my cleavage. It was without a doubt the most beautiful pocket watch I had ever seen and I couldn't stop touching it.

Miss Avocet was sitting on a bench near the park when we all went to find her. She had a bag of bread in her hand, and she was ripping it into small pieces and throwing them to a nearby flock of crows. The gallant black birds gave me a sense of comfort and familiarity.

She asked to see our timepieces and we showed them off excitedly.

"Well done, today, ladies," she cooed. "Now remember that once you develop your time manipulation skills, it is vital that your timepiece remain on your person at all times."

Looking at the crows peck at the bread, I touched my watch on my chest. Even if it wasn't required to keep it on me at all times, I knew I would anyway. It was just that beautiful.


End file.
